Where Are We Now?
by AmyNChan
Summary: "I want you to look after your brother if your mother and I are unable to...There will come a time when you need to remember to do so more them ever." Now is that time. Where are they? Can they look out for each other? Can they find their way home without revealing who they are? The test of family is strong when you cannot be true with those you love. T for situations
1. The Start Of It All

_**14AmyChan: I own all of these characters. Well, except for a few, but you'll figure out who **__**they**__** are later. XD Until then, enjoy. *^_^***_

"Time for dinner!" the babysitter hollered, calling to attention the two children in the backyard. Two sets of eyes—both around the same age—looked up from their personal machinations. She had been holding a seemingly one sided conversation. He had been very interested in a bent spoon. Hurriedly, they made their way into the house, where their babysitter had already set the table for them.

"Thank you for the food," the girl and babysitter recited before digging into the meal. The younger of the two ate with gusto, the latter was more polite. The boy smiled as he ate his food in silence.

"When's mommy and daddy coming home?" the girl asked loudly, speaking the question for both children for the fifth time that week. They looked to their sitter in expectation, and she could only offer them a sigh.

"They should return from their business trip by tomorrow," she explained. The female child rolled her eyes, as she always did when their sitter called what their parents did 'business trips'. It was _obvious_ that the woman did not believe in the awesome.

Her brother, however, expressed his enthusiasm through a smile and the slight quickening of his eating of food. He was quite happy to hear his parents would return. He had so much to show them!

* * *

><p>"Good night, little ones," the babysitter said quietly as she shut the door. The children were to go to sleep instantly, as they normally pretended to do. What the sitter was unaware of, however, was the fact that the two would stay up late, conversing for an hour or so in the quietest of ways possible, and then tip-toe to their parents room a mere hour after being placed into their beds.<p>

"I think we can make it to Mommy and Daddy's room now without Yakuza-san hearing," the girl stated out loud for the sake of hearing herself speak. Her brother was about to reply—telling his sister that such a feat was possible for them, but he did not want to at the moment—when a sudden noise startled him out of such thoughts.

_Crash!_

The two children sat perfectly still in their beds for a moment, listening. They could hear something going on downstairs, but they knew it was not the TV. Their babysitter, Yakuza-san, did not like it.

_Thud, thud, thud, thud!_

The heavy footsteps sounded very close. The girl leapt out of her bed and hurried to her brother's, easily pulling him out of his bed and pulling him into the closet. Her intent was to protect him no matter what. Her hope was that the footsteps would not open their door before they made it to their destination.

"I thought you said I'd get half!" Yazuka-san's voice came from the other side of the door. It caused the young boy to halt in his tracks, worry clear on his sleepy face. It was obvious that he was still processing when his sister jerked him forward and into the closet. She began to bury themselves in the clothes and thanked God that she was quite a messy person.

_Slam! Sliiide._

The sudden noises startled the children, but they dared not make a sound. A gruff voice—which was unfamiliar to them—began to speak.

"Find them, but don't kill them. The buyers want them alive," it ordered. Numerous thudding boots sounded all over their home. The little girl held her breath when the door to their shared bedroom opened with the stomp of a mighty boot. She held onto her brother, trying to stay strong for both of them.

She thanked her lucky stars that her brother was half-asleep anyways.

The boots walked over to the bed and stopped. She could see from her hiding place that the man bent over quickly and searched under the bed for the children. He looked like a very mean man. She did_ not_ want to be found by him.

"Why are we going through so much crap for a couple of brats, anyway?" another voice asked. It was then that she noticed there were two men in the room. She narrowed her eyes, hoping that by doing so she could be brave. What did they want, anyways?

"Superstitious old coot thinks they'll give him good luck," the man by the bed rambled. "Personally, I don't believe it, but if he's willing to pay _that much_, I'll do pretty much anything."

"I see," the first stated, and the five-year-old girl suddenly felt a patch of cold air hit the top of her head. She looked up with wide blue eyes and saw that a third man had taken her cover and was smiling in cruel victory. As much as she hated to admit it, she was powerless to stop the man from placing a rag over her nose. Her last conscious thoughts were that of being ripped from her brother and having the memories of the past few minutes of her kidnapper flow into her.

* * *

><p><em>Where…am I?<em> were his first thoughts as he came to consciousness. Instinctively, he knew that he had risen with the sun, as he always did. He always rose very early, always encompassed in warm blankets, and always ready to share a morning read with daddy while they waited for mommy and his (slightly) older sister to awaken.

But this time, he was not encompassed in warm blankets. He felt a very cold and hard material through his pajamas. He felt himself being jostled, as though on a very long and careless ride. He opened his eyes quietly.

What met his conscious and alert gaze first was his sister, half-dazed and disoriented. He could tell the murderous thoughts that were in her head as clearly as if he were thinking them himself, even if the thoughts were slowed heavily.

_That's not good..._ he thought, panic slowly rising in his stomach. He looked around, now aware that they were in the back of a car. It looked almost like the van that mommy and daddy used when they went on cases.

_Wake up..._ he silently begged of his sister, knowing that if he could somehow get over to her, she would become alert. The young boy wiggled towards his twin, realizing that his hands and feet were bound, and his mouth gagged. Not like _that_ would be of much use, anyways...

_Just another..._ he thought as he finally made contact with his sister. His intent was to shove some of his alertness into her. However, it worked exactly in reverse.

He got what was running through her mind.

Yazuka-san's betrayal.

The purchase of the twins.

The surveillance of the twins' gifts.

The planning.

The fake case that mommy and daddy were on to lure them away.

How the trap had worked.

How the plan was formed so that way the twins would never see their parents again.

Images and voices flashed through his young mind quickly, each passing before his mind's eye the instant they were understood. He observed everything, taking it all in. It went faster. And faster. And faster. Colors and voices, identities and thoughts all swirled together, causing one large pit of despair inside his stomach.

He panicked.

* * *

><p>The first thing she noticed when she somehow got a burst of energy from her brother's naturally awake mind was that something was wrong. Very wrong.<p>

She did not mean the van and the kidnapping and all of the events from the previous night. She already knew about that and was working on a plan to get her and her brother out of there. No, it was something else, a problem that she knew could turn very bad, very quickly.

Her brother was panicking.

She looked around the car, the only difference that her brother's newfound state of mind caused being the slight change in temperature. But she knew it would not be long before the windows would rattle, the men would get scared, they would swerve off the road, and they would all land in a ditch, where the children would be forced to walk with them and they would probably end up in a much worse situation than they already were in.

She had already been inside their minds. At the slightest hiccup in their 'plans', they could very well be killed.

She did the only thing she could do, writhe slightly in the direction of her brother and tap foreheads with him, siphoning the energy away from him. She held it in the pit of her stomach, as her _sensei_ had showed her how. She pulled more and more of the rapidly gathering energy away, keeping her brother at a safe level and knowing that he should stop panicking soon.

But he did not.

If anything, his state of mind only got worse. The energy was coming in droves now, and it was becoming almost too hot for her to carry all by herself. She tried to push some back, but she could not. He was still overflowing, and giving any back would probably hurt him!

"_I want you to look after your brother if your mother and I are unable to...There will come a time when you need to remember to do so more them ever."_

She concentrated even more, siphoning the energy away from her twin with renewed vigor. Daddy had _said_ something like this could happen, and she had _promised_ to take care of her brother. To always look after him.

She kept siphoning the energy away, kept hoping that her brother would calm down. She tried to send him calming thoughts, but they were for naught. It took her a while to realize that he was blocking her out.

"I thought you said you had this car fixed!" one of the men from the front complained as they heard the windows rattle.

"I did!" the second grunted angrily, slapping the window as if it would quell the sudden tremors. The small girl tried to siphon more energy, but it was becoming white-hot in her core. It was beginning to hurt even worse.

"Make sure the brats aren't awake," another voice ordered, to which several scoffed.

"You actually _believe_ that crap the buyer thinks about those two?" a high-pitched voice asked, a voice which the children recognized instantly. The small boy felt the sting of betrayal while the little girl wanted to hiss at how someone they had _trusted_ would have _sold them_ to a _collector!_

She let her control on her brother's energy slip a little bit, and the car rocked heavily.

"Did you just hit a pothole?" one of the men up front screamed as several cursed.

"Do you think I just went over a freaking pothole?" the driver returned angrily, joining in the chorus of curses. Some turned to the children in fear, and one of them was holding a gun.

"He didn't want _both_ of them, right? Just the boy?" the trigger happy kidnapper asked as he fiddled with the safety. That in no way helped the young boy's mental state. He shifted closer to his sister and tried to keep all of the men in his sights, protecting her as many of the men murmured their agreement.

"If it makes you feel better, shoot her, but don't blame me when you have to dump the body of a five year old little girl on the side of the road," a deep voice called out, obviously disgusted. "I can't believe you guys are getting spooked by a little pothole."

Still some of the men shifted, and she felt more energy coming from her brother. She could not hold any more. She had to let it out. But she never had this much before! If she let it go all at once, she could blow the car up or worse!

"Shoot her!" one of the men cried, feeling the car jerk horribly one more time. The safety clicked off.

And she panicked.

* * *

><p>"Where...?" the little girl asked, looking around herself. She was used to being awake. She was used to being asleep. Heck, every now and again she was used to the Astral Plane, where multiple orbs of light floated around peaceably so long as she did not touch them. She was aware of her right hand gripped tightly onto something, and when she looked, she found it to be the hand of her younger (by four minutes) brother.<p>

So, wherever she was, she had her brother with her. She was not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

The last thing she remembered was releasing all of the energy at once because fear had clouded her mind for a split-second.

Before she could begin berating herself for failing to keep her brother and his energy safe, she felt something. Actually, a lot of somethings. Like pulls, each attempting to guide her in a different direction. She looked around herself, noticing at last the multiple strings that were in front of her, each waggling in the air to be pulled upon.

"Which one am I supposed to pull?" she questioned out loud. Talking out loud helped her to think, and she narrowed her eyes, trying to reach out with her senses which was the safest to follow through on.

Finally, she reached out with her left hand and grabbed a string. It was little more than a silver blue string, waving the most innocently, almost as through a passing thought. She grabbed it, and held on tightly.

And then she saw black.

_**14AmyChan: Prologues, gotta love 'em. In any event, while I will try to be a constant and vigilant updater, I make no guarantees. XD Wish me luck~! *^_^***_


	2. Somewhere Safe

_**AmyNChan: Okay, I finally managed to update on **__**something**__**! XDD**_

_**Gene: And this is where the disclaimer comes in, right?**_

_**AmyNChan: Absolutely, since I don't actually **__**own**__** you and all… XD**_

_**Gene: Nope! And now that that's out of the way, on with the story!**_

_**AmyNChan: Yay! *^_^***_

Eugene Davis was floating through the air, as he normally did. Being tied to the living world via two separate people in two separate continents allowed one to travel between the two said idiots in any way that they so chose. In Gene's case, he was now choosing to float lazily between one and the other. It had done him good to take the time to float over the vast ocean, noting with a sense of relief that he no longer had to endure seasickness.

For some reason, while lakes understandably bothered him in his afterlife state, the ocean did not perturb him as much as it could have.

Now, almost two months after he had left Noll's side to meander over to Mai, he was midway through Japan, allowing his mind to wander where it may as he floated along. And, for a dead guy, Gene had quite a few things to think about.

Ever since he had died six years ago, it had taken Noll close to two years to find his body. During that time, Gene—through Mai—had witnessed his brother become less closed off. In England, his idiotic twin had always shut down people trying to get close to him, always passing them off as trying to get to Gene. While the older twin did not mind the company, he had often worried for his antisocial brother. When Noll had come to Japan, things had changed.

A stubborn girl named Mai Taniyama had barreled headfirst into his brother's life, and Gene for his part was quite impressed with her tenacity. _So_ he had played the switching game so she thought he was his brother. It had been great fun.

For a while, at least.

Until he realized that the stubborn girl was falling for his brother. He had, unfortunately, learned that far too late. He had intended on correcting her that day at the lake, but he had known that it was a lost cause. So he had left her with his brother in order to clear his head. By the time had had managed to come back to the group, Noll and Mai were avoiding each other like the plague, and Gene wondered if he had done right in pretending to be his brother for so long.

Ever since that day, four years had passed. His brother often became sullen on the anniversary of the day his body had been retrieved, and Gene often did his best to try and comfort his brother. Anything from trying to pull off ghostly pranks to throwing a dirty sock on his head. Gene had tried to coax even a snort of disapproval from his brother. He had finally managed one last year with the rapid and incessant clicking of a pen.

And now, Noll was planning on doing something. Something that should affect his future in a _very_ big way.

Gene paused in that thought for a moment. Noll was moving forward with his life, as he should. What would happen to his aging brother in five years? Ten? Fifteen? Would he grow? Would he change? Would he even still be among the living?

Gene shuddered at that last thought. His brother should not have to join him prematurely. Not when he could be _living_. He prayed that his brother would live for a long while to come, and vowed he would do anything in his power to make that prayer a reality.

"AH!"

Gene was startled form his musings, which was not easy in life or in death. He was usually not prone to scares, having been in the business that he had lived in. However, watching two children tumble pretty much from his spot in midair was enough to confuse and frighten anyone with a heart.

"Oof!" the same voice from before shouted loudly as the two landed. Gene winced for them in sympathy. That fall had to be quite nasty. Despite being dead and therefore unable to actually _do_ anything, he glided over to them to ensure they were all right. He watched as the girl—who had black hair and equally inky pajamas—assisted the boy she was with. He had messy light brown hair, cinnamon eyes wide with fright, and pajamas with horses on them, like ones one would find in a western movie. They both looked dead on their feet, figuratively speaking.

Gene wished he could do something to help them.

"It's not polite to stare at awesomeness," the girl finally stated after she caught her breath, her eyes not having been opened yet. Gene calmly looked around for the person she was _supposed_ to have been addressing. _Obviously_, she could not see—

"Don't act like I can't see you, I know you're right there!" the girl frowned as she finally turned her eyes to the ghost. Her eyes widened and Gene debated on whether or not she could truly see him.

"You… you're…" the girl floundered for words. Gene decided to break it as gently as he could to her.

"Dead," he finished her sentence softly, smiling to show the strange child that he was at peace with that fact. It had taken three years, but he had finally become okay with the fact that he was no longer a part of the living world. Besides, being a ghost had so many _perks_.

The young boy tugged lightly on his companion's sleeve, confusion evident on his face. After a moment, the confusion cleared and he nodded. He turned in the general direction that his compatriot was looking, not truly knowing what he was looking at. Gene could tell because the boy's gaze was approximately two feet to the left of where the ghost was currently floating.

"Have you ever seen a ghost before?" he questioned, having already deduced that the boy could not see him at all. What? Noll was not the _only_ one gifted with intelligence, you know. His question seemed to knock the girl off her feet and into some sort of attitude.

"Of _course_ I can see ghosts!" the girl huffed, pulling her arms together in a display of disapproval. "I'm awesome like that, remember?"

"Remember what? I don't think we've met before," Gene stated, trying to break the news gently, as it seemed that the child was convinced that they had met sometime in the past. The girl's face twisted in confusion and she opened her mouth to speak, only to halt in her tracks.

Gene eyed the duo carefully. They were small children, dressed only in their pajamas in the dead of night when winter was fast approaching. Though the spirit himself could not feel it, he knew that it was cold due to the tremors of the small boy, who had still not said a word.

"…what day is it?" the girl finally asked after a long bout of silence. Gene broke from his musings, questions alight in his eyes.

"I don't really know," he admitted with a lighthearted smile. "It's been a while since I looked at a calendar, and ghosts don't exactly carry cell phones or watches."

"Do you know the month?" she pressed. Again, Gene shook his head. It had been July when he left Noll to float towards Mai, and the long way around definitely was long. All he knew was that it was almost winter of the same year he had left Noll. The little girl looked exasperated now, and Gene felt a tug of familiarity, but he could not place from where.

"The year, then?" she pushed, her face becoming more irritated by the second. Gene struggled to place that face, as though he had seen it many a time before. Yet he could not. Still, in order to not be rude, he answered the young girl's question.

"1996," Gene revealed, finally knowing an answer to one of her questions. However, instead of the smug satisfaction that the ghost was somewhat expecting—do not ask him why, he simply had an inkling that sort of expression would pass her face next—her face began to drain of color. He began to worry.

"Are you all right?" he asked, reaching out for her shoulder. As expected, his ethereal hand fell through her, and was unable to provide a comfort. However, the chill that his hand provided snapped her out of her mini-panic session and her face began to school itself into determination.

Gene had a feeling that he had _really_ seen that sort of face before… but where…?

Gene felt, rather than heard, the boy's sneeze. His vocal chords made not a peep, but the soft sound of his hair cutting through the air caused both eyes to turn on him. He sniffed silently and offered a gentle smile of apology towards the girl.

"Are you two related?" Gene finally asked. Given the fact that the boy had not spoken a word of the entire conversation yet the girl somehow knew and responded to his unsaid queries, the ghost with the experience felt that they were either close or telepathically connected.

But that could just be him comparing this strange duo to him and Noll. Wait a moment—

"This is my brother," the girl announced. "He's younger than I am by four minutes!"

Gene chuckled at her declaration, having made the same about his younger by two minutes brother. Though how he knew such a thing, given that they had not known their birth mother, is a query left unasked.

"Tell us your name!" the girl demanded. Gene was about to lightly scold her for her lack of manners when her brother poked her in the rib with a frown. Rolling her eyes, she amended her statement with a "please" tacked onto the end.

Deciding that was better than rude declarations, Gene decided to indulge her. "Kazuma Shibuya," he said, lying smoothly. This way, if she met Noll—if there was ever a _chance_ of meeting Noll—she would not call him on his lie.

What a nice older brother he—

"You're dead, so there's no reason to lie," the little girl deadpanned, frowning heavily at him. Gene rose his eyebrows, slightly impressed. Usually, no one questioned him about his identity once he had given it. Not when he pretended to be Noll, not when he assumed that fake name here in Japan whilst he was alive, and not even whilst he was dead and guiding Mai. And yet, this small child just did.

He almost felt like applauding her.

"Until I find out your real name, I'm gonna call you Uncle Gene," the girl declared, her face completely straight. Though Gene could tell there was a bit of deception with the girl as well. He just could not find out what she was lying about. Nor if she actually _knew_ that Gene was his nickname or if she had only guessed.

"Do I look like a Gene to you?" he joked slightly, prodding for information. The girl looked him in the eye and raised an eyebrow.

"Why else would I call you Uncle Gene?" she asked. As far as he could tell, it was an honest question. He sighed in defeat.

"As long as we're going to give each other nicknames, what should I call you two?" he queried, looking from one child to the other. They looked at each other, silently trading barbs, their faces perfectly matched with the other's.

_They could be…_ he mused slightly, watching them interact. The young boy looked almost…consoling. As though he were about to do something he did not wish to. The little girl looked…frustrated. Perhaps they were arguing. Gene decided to wait out their conversation.

"Call me Yui," she finally grumbled, glaring daggers at her brother. Then, as if in some sort of plot to get her younger brother back, she tacked on his introduction. "And he's Kazi."

"All right," Gene conceded. Again, he felt as though he were only getting half-truths. Still, he had no room to talk, having used many himself. "Where are your parents?"

"They're far away," Yui stated bluntly. Gene lifted an eyebrow.

"Won't they be worried?" he asked. Yui and Kazi exchanged glances again, both of them anxious now that he had brought it up.

"We need to find someplace to hide," she admitted. Both of Gene's eyebrows met his forehead.

"Are you running away from home?" he asked. _A little too young to be in that phase_, he thought, looking them over for bruises or signs of malnourishment. They _seemed_ like healthy kids, just out of place and very tired. Yui glared at him.

"Why would we do that?" she retorted angrily. "My daddy's the best ever! I wanted to go ghost hunting with him!"

"Your father is a ghost hunter?" Gene asked, surprised. There were not many people in the business in Japan that he knew of. Certainly not any with _kids_. Yui nodded swiftly.

"Yeah, but he calls it para-normal invest-ti-ga-ting," she explained, tripping only slightly on the last large word. Gene looked the children over again. They _looked_ familiar, but—

Kazi sneezed again, reminding Gene that it was cold outside and these children were in nothing except for their pajamas. Warm as they might be, the children still needed to get inside _somewhere_ and be safe. It was now obvious to Gene that they were running from _something_ that was not their parents, and if she could see ghosts, then there was a possibility of it being paranormal.

Gene thought about that for a moment… who did he know that would take in a couple of lost and tired children that could possibly be in the midst of being chased by something paranormal who had even the slightest chance of protecting them?

* * *

><p>A twenty year old woman rolled out of her very comfortable blankets on her one day off in order to answer the door, which someone was beating upon mercilessly. She refused to look at the clock, which was blaring large red numbers in the middle of her dark bedroom, knowing that the affirmation of a time before nine in the morning would most likely make her upset or remind her to cuddle back with her blankets and regain their trust.<p>

Instead, she yawned widely without bothering to hide it as she ambled to her front door. Her apartment was by no means luxurious, as she spent little time there anyways. Her new job—fifth one that month—did not pay very well, and she feared that she would soon lose it, however cheap it may be.

"I might have to get a new apartment…" she softly mused aloud. There was no way for anyone on the other side of her door to hear it, and she blearily looked through the peephole to see who had awoken her.

"Ara?" she questioned aloud when she saw no one. Possibly against the best common sense known to mankind, she opened the front door in order to double check that there was no dead person or half-conscious life form at her front doorstep.

She rose one of her eyebrows when she saw both.

"Mind if we come in?" Gene's spirit asked as he brought two obviously tired children into her home. She shook her head, letting him know that it was all right with her before she gently shut the door behind them.

After all, Mai Taniyama always had her home open to friends and those who needed a place to stay.

_**AmyNChan: Before I forget, I'm basing the timeline on the year the manga ended, which happened to be 1992.**_

_**Mai: So long ago!**_

_**AmyNChan: And we **__**still**__** get new fans into the fandom~! *mini happy dance***_

_**Gene: That's great! *has party poppers***_

_**AmyNChan: Anyhoot, I hope you guys are enjoying thus far, and can't wait to write even more~! *^_^* Love ya all~!**_

_**Mai: Please leave your thoughts, questions, and random flip-outs about this story in the comment section below! We want to hear your feedback!**_

_**AmyNChan: If you do, a smiling Gene awaits your dreams tonight!**_

_**Gene: Wha—**_

_**Mai and AmyNChan: Review! XDDD**_


	3. Sorting Things Out

_**AmyNChan: All righty, then!**_

_**Mai: This story is a bit different from your others…**_

_**AmyNChan: I'm trying to write it like I would professionally, should I have an original story. XD I think it's going all right, but it could stand to be better.**_

_**Mai: Also, you don't own me or Gene, so you can't make money off of it anyways.**_

_**AmyNChan: XD I said the 'writing style' was what I was working on, not this genre of story. XD**_

_**Mai: XD Just write, already!**_

_**AmyNChan: Yes'm!**_

Mai walked away from the guest room where she had placed her tiny tired visitors. For reasons unknown to her, Gene had somehow picked them up and led them to her house to spend the night. She had no clue who they were—as they had fallen asleep promptly after finding a futon to rest their heads on—and no idea what had happened—as Gene had left rather quickly with a rather frustrating message informing her that he would see her when she slept next.

"I don't mind if he comes by every once in a while, but he could at least warn me if he's bringing somebody," the twenty year old woman complained slightly, though she knew that her gripes were more to get herself talking than because she was actually bothered by the company. A strong feeling in her gut urged her to take the children in with no fight, though an opposing sense in her stomach flip flopped uncomfortably at the sight of them.

"Of course it did, they're just two kids out in the harsh world all alone," Mai muttered. "I wouldn't want that to happen to anyone I knew…"

As she continued to ponder the night's brief yet very odd events, she made herself a cup of tea. It had become custom for her that whenever she awoke in the middle of the night, she would sip on either coffee or tea until the beverage had fulfilled its purpose. Coffee would wake her up and get her energized for the day. She drank this when she was tired, but had no intention or time to fall back into slumber. Usually, this was because she had yet another job that required her to be awake before the crack of dawn. Tea, on the other hand, calmed her when she became far too alert in the precise time she wanted to sleep. The special brew her mother had taught her to make calmed her more so than any other thing she had tried, and was often her go-to drink when she _needed_ to sleep.

It took much less time than normal for her eyes to droop once more. Only four minutes. Quickly yet somehow carefully, she cleaned up the mess she had created in making the tea and turned out the light. In the darkness of her small apartment, she found her room once more and made a beeline for her own futon.

Mai had returned to her blissfully unconscious state before her head even hit the pillow.

* * *

><p>"It took you long enough," Gene smiled as he saw Mai appear before him on the Astral Plane. While he could recuperate his strength here in order to appear in the physical world, remaining in said plane could be quite lonely. The woman in question gave a pointed look in his direction.<p>

"You're one to talk," she stated, thinking of how she had not seen the ghost in almost a year. "You know, you were gone so long I had started to think that you had passed on again."

"I thought we weren't going to talk about that," Gene stated blatantly, pointedly looking at the woman's left side. Mai chuckled as she rolled her eyes and waved off his accusatory glare with her hand.

"I know you don't' want to talk about it, but I have to know… did it work? You promised you would tell me if it worked," she pressed, curiosity shining through in her eyes. Her eyebrows had furrowed and she looked as though the matter of which she was speaking was of grave importance.

Slowly, Gene lost his serious expression and smiled, nodding his head. Mai gave a sigh of relief and her shoulders sagged, as though an enormous weight had been lifted off them and carted away.

"I'm so glad," she admitted. Upon noting Gene's look of discomfort concerning the topic, she decided to mercifully change the subject. More specifically, to something quite relevant. "So what's up with the two kids you brought to my door? I didn't even get their names before they fell asleep."

"Truth be told, neither did I," the spirit explained, grateful to have moved onto something that they could _work_ with. Sort of. "I managed to get a couple of nicknames, though."

"How can I talk to someone with just a nickname?" Mai queried, puzzled. For all she knew, they could be codenames or something of the like. Also, with no names, it would be more difficult to assist them.

"You did with Noll for almost two years," the spirit pointed out. Mai gave a huff of exasperation, her cheeks turning red as she glared at the spirit she would gladly call 'brother'.

"It's not like I _knew_ that was his nickname," Mai defended herself weakly. Gene raised an eyebrow at her childlike defense, pondering on how he could so easily use it against her. Before he could, however, Mai continued. "How long are you going to keep bringing him up, anyways? I haven't seen him or heard from him in four years, not since he left."

"As long as you love him," Gene stated blatantly, having accepted the fact that Mai loved Oliver a long time ago. A few times over the years, he had thought of what might have happened should he have lived. Would he have fallen in love with the brunette as well? Would he and Oliver have fought over her? Eugene somehow doubted it. If he had not ended up as Mai's mentor for the spiritual, he most likely would have ended up befriending the young girl and leaving their relationship purely platonic, should they have met at all.

In spite of what anyone would think, the two were simply far too alike to have lasted in a relationship such as _that_ for very long.

"You mean so long as I'm a delirious fool chasing after a man who will never come back," Mai clarified, shaking her head. Honestly, Naru had not returned in four years, and they had not parted on good terms. In her mind, it was past time to try and pick up the pieces and move on.

Yet something kept her back every time she made an attempt.

Mai shook her head and noticed that Gene was about to say something—most likely along the hopeful lines of 'you never know' or 'it might happen' that he usually said after she made those sort of statements. Not wishing to hear them tonight, she cut across the ghost and returned to the topic at hand. She was in no mood to attempt to get her hopes up tonight. "So what are their nicknames?"

"The girl introduced themselves as Yui and Kazi," Gene sighed, deciding to relent. He _could_ have told her, but _she_ was the one who decided to _interrupt_ him. He decided to go along with where she wanted to take the direction of the conversation. If she did not want to hear, then who was he to tell her? "Based on what I gathered, it's entirely plausible that they could be pursued by something supernatural."

"What makes you say that?" Mai asked, sitting beside her friend. If there was something spiritual after these children, then the police department—which was filled to the brim with those who would laugh at such an idea as _ghosts_—would be of little use, and the charms she and Ayako had put up around her apartment half a year ago—meant to ward off any spirits other than Gene's—would only protect them for so long. She had to be sure.

"Simple," Gene began his explanation. "Yui—the little girl—could see me. But it was almost as though she were used to seeing ghosts, as she got used to my presence fairly quickly. Kazi—her brother—was not panicked at all by the fact that his sister could see something that he could not, as most children would around their age. Both children will bat for their parents wholeheartedly and even told me that their father was a ghost hunter."

"So if something followed the parents home, it could have gone after the children for some reason or another," Mai finished, realizing her guide's point of view. Gene smiled at how far Mai had come since day one. In intellect, in her paranormal expertise—not that she was quite in that field of work right now—and in personality alike. She had grown a bit.

"I hardly think this is anything to be smiling at, Gene," Mai stated, breaking his train of thought. "We have two children very far from home in my apartment, children which something paranormal may or may not be chasing. To add to that, they didn't tell you their real names and I doubt they'll tell me, which doesn't help me when I look for their parents. Also, if they're going to stay for a while, I'll need to get another job."

"Aren't you overworking yourself already?" Gene cut in, keeping in mind the school load she was pulling as well as the multiple jobs she was carrying. Even though they had not seen each other in a year, he still remembered her plans from the last time there had not been anything in the conversation to indicate that she was not sticking true to them.

The reason for her financial situation and need for multiple jobs was that two years after Noll's return to England, Madoka had been called back to the main branch. Since then, she and Lin had gotten married and somewhat settled in England. Because of Madoka's absence and the simple fact that there was no one truly capable to take over SPR's Japanese branch, the office had shut down, leaving Mai jobless for a number of weeks. Last Gene had asked, she had been working part time as a tea waitress and as a secretary for a low-grade law firm that happened to be near the school she was attending for her business major. However, all of this information was outdated by a year, so he had no idea what she had been doing since that time.

"Well, I'm not going to send them somewhere they can't be protected, and Ayako and Bou-san don't get back into town until next week," she explained, mentally running through the list of people who could do the job in her head. "I haven't seen Masako-san in three months because of her shoot, and John-san is still in Australia. Yasu doesn't have any charms around his flat, and I don't think he'd want to have two children around his place for an indefinite amount of time. Those are pretty much all of the people I know of in Japan who would think of taking them in who also have protection from the supernatural."

"So _you_ don't mind taking them in for an indefinite amount of time?" Gene asked. He knew that the girl would find a way to take care of the kids, one way or another. Even if it cost her health and sanity.

"It's the only place they can be protected until I find their parents," Mai explained, looking down at her fingers. "Maybe they'll know what to do and how to keep the kids safe, or even what they're being chased by. But until then, they're going to have to put up with my lousy cooking and hectic schedule for who knows how long."

Gene could not cover the knowing smile that crossed his face. As Mai happened to look over in his direction at that point, he could see the woman's eyes narrow in his direction.

"Gene…" she stated, her voice an evident warning. The boy—forever frozen at sixteen—simply waved off her tone. Still, she continued. "Why do I get the feeling you know something I don't?"

"Maybe I do," he stated in a very non helpful tone which caused Mai to frown. "But we've run out of time for now. Even though we worked on it last time, I can't keep you for very long on the Astral Plane, remember?"

Mai's face paled a little bit at the reminder and Gene took on a slightly more somber tone at the memory. He stuck his index finger on the brunette's forehead and pushed, allowing her to leave the Astral Plane with one last message from him.

"Your schedule may not be too hectic for much longer."

_What do you mean?_

* * *

><p>Mai awoke with a start, as she normally did after a night of Astral Projecting. Though few and far between, the occurrences had developed a certain schedule of their own. Quickly shaking off the feeling of pins and needles in her foot, she yawned and set about to get changed into something more suitable for the day, only glancing at the clock briefly. It was now nine twenty-five. Before noon, yet the woman could not find it in herself to be too terribly upset.<p>

_I wonder if they're hungry…_ she mused quietly as she pulled a cotton tee-shirt over her head. She certainly hoped neither were allergic to eggs, as omelets were the only fancy breakfast food she could cook. _Omelets with fish and cheese…Oh, yum…_

Excited to try and make some breakfast—and now quite a bit hungry herself—Mai made her way to the guest room and knocked on the door politely. After all, it was quite rude to intrude on anyone, whether they were living in your apartment temporarily as guests or no.

She heard a slight rustling on the other side of the door before it was pulled open slightly. The young boy—now dubbed Kazi by Gene—looked wide awake despite his long night and, in Mai's opinion, the early hour. It took only a moment for him to see her face and when he did, a look of subtle confusion crossed his features. He reached one hand tentatively towards her before faltering for a moment and stopping a few inches short. Mai decided it would probably be better to get down at eye level so as not to confuse or scare the poor boy.

"Hello," she softly introduced herself with a kind smile. "My name is Taniyama Mai. You and your sister came to my house last night at about three in the morning and fell asleep in the guest room of my apartment. Are you or your sister allergic to eggs?"

The young boy shook his head and withdrew his hand from her. Mai looked at it curiously before she finally noted what the boy was holding in his other hand.

"Oh, I forgot those were in the guest room," she laughed slightly, somehow embarrassed that this young soul had found her collection of Oliver Davis books. She kept them around just in case she needed to know something for a freelance exorcism with her favorite monk and priestess, but also because they reminded her that he was out there and hopefully still safe. It was true that she got occasional updates from Gene, but she was not going to belittle her friend to a mere messenger boy between Oliver and herself.

It was not as though Naru would have a message to send back to her anyways…

"I'm going to make some breakfast, then," Mai announced softly, wondering if her other guest were still asleep. She peeked into the room slightly to see that the black-haired child was still on the futon, snoring away quite contentedly with her blanket strewn about quite lazily. She must have kicked them off in her sleep.

Shaking her head, but deciding to leave the child to sleep in peace, Mai made for her kitchen. She was quite surprised when Kazi followed her. These two children were in a strange place where all they truly had was each other, and he was choosing to leave his sister in a strange room by herself. Why?

"Aren't you worried about her?" she asked aloud, slowing down enough so Kazi could match her pace easily. The young boy shook his head and pointed to Mai, then to their surroundings, and then to himself along with the door they had just left behind.

"I make you feel safe?" she guessed, her only evidence towards that translation being his gentle smile that encouraged her. He nodded his head and Mai smiled warmly at him in return. It was good that she made them feel safe. Perhaps it was the fact that she had taken them in at such a ridiculous hour, and perhaps it was the charms around the area, cleansing the negative energy and keeping it at bay. Whatever the reason, she wished to keep the children as safe as she possibly could.

And she knew to achieve that; she could not possibly do it on her own.

_**AmyNChan: All right! We have a few more pieces moving into place, I think!**_

_**Gene: You have me as a deep character with thought and everything!**_

_**Mai: But what were we talking about? What worked? And what was the incident when Gene mentioned the Astral Plane?**_

_**AmyNChan: I dunno yet. XD**_

_**Gene: Are you serious?**_

_**AmyNChan: Yup! XD**_

_**Gene: Are you going through this with no plan at all?**_

_**AmyNChan: I have a plan, it's just very loose and able to flex at will. XD**_

_**Mai: 0.o**_

_**AmyNChan: Anyhoot, if you're enjoying this story, please review! And if you could go and vote on my page, I would be much obliged to ya~! *^_^***_


	4. Breakfast

_**AmyNChan: I know, it's been a while for this one, but this one is going to be very tricky to write. I'm going to try not to fall into writing clichés, but you are all going to have to help me, okay? XD**_

_**Mai: AmyChan doesn't own Ghost Hunt!**_

_**AmyNChan: Nope, but I do own Yui and Kazi~! *^_^***_

"It's rude to stare at awesomeness, you know," little Yui stated proudly, despite her sleepy eyes. She had caught Mai looking at her and her brother yet again over breakfast. It was starting to get a touch annoying for the young girl. On the other hand, Mai had been thinking about how quickly the child had come out of her slumber and into the kitchen once she had smelled the omelets in the kitchen. For her, it had been mildly entertaining. "No matter how much you want to!"

"And it's rude to talk with your mouth full, as well," Mai reprimanded gently. The inky-haired girl scowled as she finished the food in her mouth. Despite the girl's initial complaints, Mai had a feeling that the young one actually enjoyed the food she was given to eat. Kazi as well, as he had already cleaned his plate and was silently—yet somehow politely—asking for seconds. The woman stood to oblige him.

Preparing breakfast had been an interesting affair for Mai that morning. While she would not let the young boy anywhere near the stove lest he get burned, he had been quite helpful in preparing breakfast. He even had a few ideas of his own. Because of him, the omelets not only contained fish and cheese, but leeks and a cherry tomato as well. Despite her initial thoughts about this combination being disastrous, one bite in had proven the strange variety to be not quite so horrible after all. Evidently, the cooked leeks had made the scent which drew little Yui out of bed in the first place. She had walked to the table, sat herself down with a loud yawn, and waited for her breakfast to come out. All without opening an eye.

The strange child had also asked for a newspaper, which Mai had eventually gotten at the doorstep and handed to the little girl. Upon receiving said newspaper, the lass had looked to the opposite end of the table before hiding her face in the news. The action certainly looked practiced.

Mai had found it strange, but did not comment on it aloud.

"That's a pol-ter-geist," Yui stated suddenly, jabbing her finger into the paper—which she had hung onto all through breakfast—as Mai placed the second plate in front of Kazi. Yui was only halfway through her first plate, having been more concerned with the paper in her small hands. The headline in question was about how a certain tourist location was haunted and inviting tourists to come and check the place out, testing their mettle. "It's scaring away all the people because the janitor is mad that her mom got married to her boss."

"That's quite the assumption," Mai stated, wondering if the girl was merely guessing or making up a story to entertain herself with. Still, why such a serious child would make up a story about a poltergeist concerning love was beyond Mai. Even if her parents somehow were involved with the supernatural.

"You're gonna take the case on December 23rd," the little girl stated brashly. "Because someone's gonna get hurt and you guys don't like it when someone gets hurt."

"I'll look out for the twenty-third, then," Mai stated, deciding to play along. Perhaps if she did so, the child would be more willing to tell her what she needed to know in order to help them. Besides that, her current job—of the past three weeks—was only as a secretary for a photography studio. Not her ideal job, but it paid the bills more adequately than a few of her other endeavors. And even if she had the time, she could not take the case. Not alone, at the very least.

Since the final dissolution of the team, Mai had left the field, though not entirely. As of late, she had been taking cases alongside her father-figure of a monk and the woman she looked up to as a mother figure. However, both Bou-san and Ayako were out of the country, due to a specialized Christmas concert that Bou-san's band had been asked to play in France. They would not be returning to Japan—much less into Shibuya—until the twenty ninth.

"You don't believe me," the girl declared, her youthful blue eyes staring deep into Mai's cinnamon ones. They were challenging the woman to dare refute her claim. It was a challenge that the woman decided to avert for the time being.

"Where are your parents?" she asked, deciding to switch the topic of conversation without so much as blinking. In all actuality, she really did need to contact the children's parents and let them know that they were all right. If it were Mai, she would have been worried sick by now. The small child cast her a glare that should not be on the face of any child, as concentrated as it was.

"We don't know where our parents are..." the girl finally said, as though the intense glaring contest between woman and child had not just happened. She then took a rather large chunk of egg and placed it in her mouth, effectively telling everyone in the room that she would not speak any more on the subject.

However, two could play at that game.

"What are their names?" Mai pressed as soon as she heard the young girl swallow. However, instead of answering, the child simply grabbed her glass of water and began to chase down her breakfast. Anyone could tell that the sneaky child was thinking hard of what to tell her.

But that was okay.

Mai could wait.

Suddenly, the phone that hung on her kitchen wall screamed, demanding the attention of the woman right that instant. Our favorite brunette gave a silent, yet somewhat defeated, sigh as she excused herself from the table and left to answer the telephone.

She had a feeling as soon as her back was turned; the children would be looking at each other, silently discussing what to do next. Mai was unsure if she should be afraid she was being duped or if she should be okay with such things.

"Taniyama residence, Mai speaking," she stated professionally, yet was somehow able to slip a smile into her voice. Seeing her chance, Yui began to eat her eggs in earnest, as if she had just realized they were there. Kazi, on the other hand, eyed the woman who was now caring for them with a curious eye as she talked on the phone. He was curious as to the life style she lived. He wanted to know a lot, yet knew he was limited on asking…

If only…

"I see. Are you sure that this is the only solution?" Mai asked, all forms of cheerfulness gone from her tone. It was this tone of voice—so serious and without any hint of fun—that caused the two children to look to her in identical worry. Upon seeing the kids' concerned glances, she sent them a smile, meant to reassure them.

It did nothing of the sort.

"Of course, I hope she makes it through," she said into the phone, speaking quietly. Still, even if Yui could not hear her soft tone of remorse, Kazi could. His eyebrows furrowed in concern for this woman who was caring for them.

"Thank you. Have a happy Christmas," Mai bid as she hung up the phone. She stood in front of the device for a moment before deciding it would be better if she left the room. There was no need to worry the children even further. "I think I forgot to fold up my futon. I'll be right back."

With that, the woman swiftly exited into her bedroom, all the while her mind in a mess. After all, how was she going to care for two children in her apartment when she was now jobless once more?

* * *

><p>Yui watched as Mo—ai left the room. Her eyes narrowed. She did not hear what had happened on the phone, so she turned to her brother, who had finished his second plate a few moments ago. She stuck her fork in her mouth.<p>

_What was that about?_ she inquired silently, savoring the egg that she currently had in her mouth. She loved leeks, but would never thank her brother for telling their current caretaker to put them into the omelets.

_She just got fired, I think…_ he responded, playing with his fork on his plate. Yui scrunched up her face in confusion as she swallowed her food.

_But I thought she worked at—_

_That's not yet_, Kazi interrupted. _You're getting it all mixed up, Yui._

_But Uncle Gene said it was 1996, and today's newspaper said it was almost Christmas_, Yui argued, setting her fork down. Her eyes narrowed, as they normally did whenever someone refuted her or her logic. _I thought—_

_That's right, but it's not yet…_ Kazi stated firmly once more. Despite knowing that his sister preferred to be wholly and completely right, he knew that if they were wrong everything could turn out very bad. He had read enough stories to know, and had even read one of his father's books on the subject. Even though he and mommy had asked him not to.

_So that means she's gonna get a call soon?_ Yui asked. She never had much patience for reading, even if it were her daddy's books. She would much rather run around and play and catch ghosts and actually do something than sit around. The only time she really wanted to learn a story was if it were being told to her.

And story-telling had been what their mother did best.

_Soon, probably_, Kazi mused. He turned his head towards where the owner of the apartment had left. She had been gone for a little while now. _Do you think she's okay?_

_I don't know, do you wanna go check on her?_ Yui asked as she turned back to her breakfast. There was still half an omelet for her to eat and savor. The girl gladly picked up another bite as her brother silently excused himself from the table. Ever the polite little man, Kazi took his plate to the sink and gave it a brief rinsing before going through the same door the older woman had walked through only a few minutes ago.

"She's not gonna tell you good job or anything…" Yui stated softly yet stubbornly after she had swallowed a bite of food. Instead of dwelling on the fact that her brother might end up disappointed that he would not get any sort of praise for a deed well done—something that usually happened in their household—the girl decided to look around at the small apartment once more. She liked to look at things sometimes, but only when they caught her interest.

Because it was partly a kitchen, it had a stove and a small refrigerator. Too small, really, for the lots of healthy foods her mom usually made her eat. There was also a sink, but no dishwasher. Maybe Mo-ai did not use a dishwasher… Maybe she washed all of her dishes by hand? Yui thought about it for a moment before deciding she was bored and looking for something else to observe for a minute or so. What her eyes found was the table she was sitting at. Like she was used to, the table had four seats, but it looked to Yui that no one really sat in them. She frowned as she started to wiggle in her chair. It creaked loudly.

"What kind of chair creaks?" Yui asked aloud, seemingly frustrated. In truth, she was actually rather glad that the creaking sounds were there to entertain her. She pumped her feet back and forth for a while as she ate her breakfast, enjoying the movement and the odd sounds that came with it.

Other than the necessary kitchen furnishings, there was really only room for a small loveseat and a table. The table held a few pictures on it that Yui could not see all too clearly, but that was all right. She might look at them later if they still interested her.

Almost as soon as the child had finished with her breakfast—she was then in the midst of an internal debate. When she put her plate in the sink, should she rinse it off or just leave it?—the phone began to howl at her. Not in a literal sense, of course, but if one were to ask the little girl whom the sudden noise had startled, one would hear from her that it was as loud as an angry howling wolf. Of course, the little girl did not take kindly to being frightened in any aspect so she marched up to that phone to show it who was boss.

"Don't you know it's rude to call people when they're trying to eat breakfast?" Yui asked as soon as she picked up the phone, not quite caring about the fact that she had no idea who was on the other end nor the fact that this was not her house and she could not just do as she pleased. She was far too flustered for any of these menial things. She waited for a good half of a minute before she got impatient and spoke into the phone again. "Hello? Earth to rude caller!"

"Is this the Taniyama residence?" a blunt male voice asked. Yui felt herself pale and brought the palm of her hand to her forehead. She and Kazi had just talked about this! Right before he had left the room to find their current caretaker. Speaking of which, the two had not come back yet. She wondered…

"Earth to the rude child who answered the phone, is this the Taniyama residence?" the voice repeated, turning her words back on her. Yui's face flushed in embarrassment as she scowled. Not that the person on the other side of the phone could see it. Of course not.

"Yes it is," she snapped at him. Not that she would normally; it was only that he had caught her off guard. Maybe when she saw him—

Oh. That was right… He—

"Is Taniyama Mai able to answer the phone?" he asked, though Yui wondered what was wrong with his voice. It sounded a little mad to her. She frowned. She did not want him to be mad. Especially not at her.

"I'll go see if she can talk right now," she told him over the phone. "Don't move a muscle!"

With that last warning, she placed the phone down and sprinted the short distance from the kitchen wall to the bedroom door. After all, the apartment was not very large, so her feet did not have to beat harshly upon the wooden floors for very long.

Yui rapped her small knuckles on the door for a few moments before she was allowed to come in. She pushed the door open and was not very surprised at what she saw. Kazi had gotten a piece of paper and a pencil and was attempting to write out what he was trying to say. Kazi was not very good at it, but usually their parents were able to guess a few times before they dissolved into good-natured smiles and laughs. It was then that Kazi would finally 'tell' their parents what he was trying to say.

Unfortunately, he could not speak clearly to her, and Mai was a pretty bad guesser.

"Moto…ki?" she asked, squinting at the paper. Kazi, although fairly patient for a five year old, was beginning to be frustrated as he wrote the kanji again, trying very hard to keep his hand still. Yui took a few moments to figure out that Mai seemed to be feeling a lot better—that or she was _very_ good actress—and she figured out what Kazi was doing wrong.

"They're too far apart," Yui pointed out. She would have pondered on how it was most unusual for her brother to make such a mistake. He had always been much better at her when it came to writing kanji, even if they only started learning it last year. But there was something else that she needed to tell right now. She turned to the brunette.

"He's trying to tell you to cheer up because you have a phone call," the little girl announced with a confident air. The woman blinked in surprise.

"Oh, if I had a phone call, why didn't you just tell me?" she asked kindly, ruffling the top of Kazi's head. The young boy sucked in a breath of air and did not release it until the kind woman's hand was gone. By that point, she had left her room to tend to the phone. The young boy sighed in relief, but also in disappointment. Of _course_ she would not be able to hear him…

Of course…

"You know, there are easier ways to tell her to cheer up," Yui stated aloud, looking at her brother's upset face as he continued to sit on the futon. It made her sad to see her little brother that way, despite him only being littler by four minutes. Still, she decided to sit down next to her little brother on the futon where their caretaker had just been. Kazi would not look her in the eye.

"You could give her a hug or draw her a picture. Or maybe even help her make some tea," she continued. Though, instead of making her brother happier and more optimistic—like he usually is—it only caused him to become sadder. The small girl did not really know what to do with her brother, who usually made it a habit to smile even when everything seemed upsetting. She pulled up her knees and sat silently for a moment, watching her brother. He began to doodle on the page he had been using to try communicating with the kind woman. He was definitely sad.

"Hey," she finally said. He looked up at her. She frowned and looked away from his face, deciding to focus her attention on the door instead. She did not need to see him frowning so much. That was her job. "Good job about rinsing the dish… Mom would be happy."

Her brother looked at her for a moment, confused. She could feel his thoughts running through his head. Still, he eventually smiled, which was the point. Yui would have smiled as well if it were not for another loud noise of the morning.

The slam of the phone against the carrier.

_**AmyNChan: Uh oh…**_

_**Yui: What was that about?**_

_**Kazi: *holding up a sign***_

_**Sign: **__**If you divide the kanji up for "Cheer up"/ "**__**元気づける**__**"**__**/ "Genkidzukru", it means "Origin, Care, Association, That"/ "**__**元**__**, **__**気**__**, **__**づけ**__**, **__**る**__**"**__**/ "Moto ki dzukeru"**_

_**Yui: So, he was trying to say "Cheer up", but the first two kanji got split up and spelled out "Moto ki" instead of "Genki".**_

_**Kazi: *nods***_

_**AmyNChan: Still, for five years old, you're doing amazing with Kanji!**_

_**Yui: We **__**are **__**amazing!**_

_**AmyNChan: …such an arrogant child…**_

_**Kazi: *sweatdrops***_

_**AmyNChan: Anyway, please read and review~! *^_^***_


	5. Seeking Normality

_**AmyNChan: Hey, guys! I'm sorry this took so long to get out here, but I was seriously stuck heavily on this yadda yadda yadda. ^^;**_

_**Mai: As long as the readers get the next chapter, I don't think they mind a little bit of a wait…**_

_**AmyNChan: I certainly hope so… Also, I have tissues on the standby, because I almost cried writing this chapter!**_

_**Mai: Wait, wha—?!**_

_**AmyNChan: I don't own the Ghost Hunt cannon characters! *^_^***_

"I cannot _believe_ he said that to me," she muttered with an air of visible frustration and embarrassment. Yui and Kazi peeked tentatively out of their new caretaker's room to see her scrubbing away at dishes before pulling out a kettle. The two children looked at each other before tuning into her frantic actions once more. "The nerve of that little— And after what I've done—!"

"What did the rude caller say?" Yui blurted without meaning to. As the child tried to slap her hands over her mouth and cover up what she had said, she lost balance and started to tumble to the ground. Kazi, being beneath her at the time, was caught in the gravitational pull that was tugging on his sister and also collapsed. Startled, Mai turned to see the two children in a heap at her bedroom door, attempting to look innocent.

Well, the woman who wore her heart on her sleeve could not help but smile at the antics of the two children. She giggled at their small misfortune before gently setting down her tea set and rushing over to help them to their feet.

"Even _kids_ know he's rude..." she laughed softly as she managed to get Yui to her feet. It did not take very long to assist Kazi as well. Before Yui could state her piece, she had continued. "A man I used to know just called and offered me a job."

"Are you gonna take it?" Yui asked, needing to actually say something out loud. She hated being quiet for too long. She hated being interrupted even more. The brunette woman sighed as she returned to making her tea.

"I don't know," she admitted, her eyes narrowing as she recalled the conversation she had just gone through. The two children looked at each other, eyes wide.

_Did she just—_

_I think she—_

_But wasn't she gonna—_

_How—_

_But—_

"Why?" Yui asked the question that the two children had agreed on in their telepathic minds. In their flurry of queries, that had been the most prominent. The woman huffed a breath of air out, indicating her displeasure with the situation.

"My old boss has a _very horrible habit_ of making assumptions about my personal life. I think it's the one situation where he's dead wrong when it really counts," she mused aloud as the teapot screeched for attention. Kazi began to take a step forward, only to be halted by Yui's extended hand. He had forgotten. This person would not let him near the stove.

"I thought he was really smart?" Yui stated, her brows furrowing in confusion and a touch of disbelief. Mai, however, was not looking and therefore could not have caught such a look. Nor was she in a state of mind to ask herself when she had revealed _his_ intelligence to the young child or how she had come across that information. She was too busy attempting to calm herself down with a nice cup of dragonfruit tea. The sweet yet somewhat tangy flavor always helped her to relieve headaches, especially after long days or stressful situations. She pondered for a moment of whether or not the kids would like some tea, or if they were allowed to have caffeine at such a young age. If it were her children, she probably would not want them to have too much.

It was then that she remembered her blend did not have any caffeine.

"He usually is," Mai answered, almost distractedly. She was still wondering if the children would like some tea, a mild distraction to get her mind off of the phone call she had just recieved. They _did_ just eat breakfast. Tea right now might be a bit much for their stomachs to handle. Perhaps later, then.

"But what about the other phone call?" Yui pressed. At this point, she and Kazi were standing on either side of the twenty year old, having followed her after their little tumble. Kazi was watching Mai's hand with a bit of nervousness while Yui kept demanding her attention with endless questions. For the young woman, it was almost like helping John in the orphanage, only different somehow. Her instincts were screaming that something was very different to her, but she could not quite make out the important distinction. What made this so different…?

"What about it?" she asked, prompting Yui to continue. Mai felt as though she needed to riddle out what was driving her instincts so haywire about these children. There was something off here. She just did not know what.

"You lost your last job," Yui blurted. However, as soon as she did, her hands went up to her mouth. The twenty year old woman did not tell her that she had lost her job at the photography studio. Yui was not supposed to have known small details like that. She had messed up.

She had said something she should not have said.

"That's true…" Mai murmured, knowing that she could not avoid the problem forever, yet this headache of hers kept her from thinking clearly on everything that was happening at once. With her instincts, the calls, Gene's warning which suddenly made so much more sense, these two children, and this budding headache, there was hardly much room to think clearly for her. She felt so bogged down in the matter of only twelve hours. She heard a timer go off and deemed that her tea was now at a good sipping temperature.

She took a sip and sighed in relief. The headache was abating.

Yui, on the other hand, thanked her lucky stars. This woman had always possessed a stunning ability to catch on her slip-ups, and it was great that luck appeared to be on her side for the time being. As she let out a silent breath of relief, she noticed her brother, his expression so much more distraught than when she had seen it last. Red flags went up in her mind, as she had not been paying attention to her brother's thoughts with her own running around in her head.

_What's wrong, Kazi?_ Yui asked as she looked at her brother. It was now that she noticed his thoughts were blanketed in the swirling emotions of lonliness and intense sadness. The young girl could feel herself sag under a new weight of guilt. She should have been paying attention to her brother. She should _know_ what was wrong, but she did not. She felt like a terrible sister.

_I'm still scared…_ he admitted. It was so quiet, even in her own mind, that she had trouble discerning it from the normal static that came with a telepathic connection. Yui felt her heart falter for her brother's sake. He did not get this scared. Not usually.

Then again, they did not usually make much of a habit of using his powers to put them—wherever they were. He must have felt a bit responsible for this mess, even though it was not his fault...

Yui's thoughts on the subject—which were very well construed for a five year old—were enough to validate Kazi's fears and insecurities on the situation. The child suddenly latched onto the older woman, and did not give any aknowledgement when she gave a sudden start. Yui held her breath as the woman they knew looked down at Kazi, her familiar eyes painfully unaware of their true existence.

"Are you feeling okay?" she asked, her tone caring and nurturing. Were he able to, Kazi would have hiccupped. Their caretaker placed her tea down carefully—her mind now pushing her personal problems and instincts off to the side—and knelt to eye level in an attempt to gain a better understanding of what was happening. She looked into the frightened brown eyes of the young boy who refused to let go of her side. She adjusted him so he would not have to hold onto her leg as she knelt to his level, but as soon as she did so, he latched himself onto her neck, holding on for dear life. Mai heart throbbed painfully when she felt tears on the nape of her neck.

"What's wrong…?" she whispered, subconsciously rubbing the boy's back as an attempt in comfort. Her eyes roamed to Yui, who she thought might have a few answers to her brother's sudden behavior. The young girl was about to talk to her brother when what was bothering him so badly suddenly invaded her mind, bringing to the forefront thoughts she had been trying so very hard to push away since last night.

They had been at _home_, where they had felt the _safest_. They had almost been asleep, which was when they were the calmest. Everything had been normal.

Then they had been taken. Betrayed by someone who their family had _trusted_. Who their _parents_ had trusted. Kazi had _liked it_ when Yakuza-san came and watched them. Even Yui had enjoyed the woman's presence, despite her skepticism.

They had been drugged. They had been dragged to a van. They had been tied up uncomfortably. They had been about to be _sold_. They were never going to see their family again.

And then they had exploded, somehow. And now they were in a strange place with familiar faces who found them strange. They did not have a real home here. They were lost, and they had no way to get back. The people they were used to seeking comfort from now treated them no more than houseguests. Like practical strangers.

All of these facts piled on Yui and she struggled to keep her tears down. She had made it so far without crying because she had tried _not_ to think about it. She had been trying so very hard to be strong. To keep herself occupied. To ask questions and not think about anything when this woman or Uncle Gene had asked her to answer theirs. To stay strong even though she was perhaps just a little bit scared. She had wanted to be fearless and strong like daddy...

She had been trying so hard, and now she felt so alone. So cold. So upset. She just wanted her daddy to hold her like he always did whenever she was really sad. She wanted to go on cases again and be normal. She wanted to go back to where she came from.

"Ngh…" the girl began, but found she could not finish. Her composure was being held by only a thread, and it was fraying with each passing second that she thought of what she and her brother had gone through in the past twelve hours. Or was it even that?

The sounds of wailing broke through the kitchen as two children sobbed, their true terror showing for the first time since the ordeal had begun. The shock had worn off, the newness of their surroundings had faded, and all that remained were two children who wished for nothing more than for their mommy and daddy to hold them and tell them it was going to be okay. To be held by people who would understand them and support them and love them and know them. Yui lifted her hands to try and scrub away her tears as she continued to cry.

"Shhhh," a voice suddenly came, subtle and soft. Yui found herself surrendering to it, allowing herself to wail as loudly as she needed to. Allowing herself to seek comfort in the arm that was now wrapped around her, keeping her rooted to the ground as a comforting hand rubbed circles on her back. It was then that she realized she was not so alone. So cold. She was still plenty upset, though.

"It's going to be okay," the familiar voice cooed again, and Kazi wanted to believe it. He wanted to believe that everything was going to be okay again. He had tried to make himself comfortable and familiar here. He had tried to behave as he did at home, he had tried so hard. He knew that he was safe here, but he was not understood. He wanted to go home, where his mommy could hear him. He wanted to go home and feel safe again. He wanted his mommy and daddy so very much, because he felt so alone and so lost here.

The voice hummed a tune that felt so familiar to the children. They curled into the warmth that had been offered to them and allowed themselves a small comfort. In the voice that was humming to them. In the fact that they still had each other. Yui sought out the hand of her brother and held it tightly as they were being held by these comforting arms. The emotional drain caused her eyes to be sleepy, and she refused to believe that they had leaked liquid only moments beforehand.

_Mommy…_ the two thought. One aloud, and one silently.

They surrendered to the feeling of comfort and to the lullaby that their mother always hummed to them in times of duress.

* * *

><p>Mai held the children for a long while. She had no idea how long. She had tried to soothe them as best she knew how. She rubbed circles on their backs and let them cry as loudly as they needed to and kept them both close until they both succumbed to sleep. At that point, they were holding the hand of the other as well as clinging to her, their sobs dimmed yet not vanquished as she hummed to them the lullaby her mother had once hummed to her.<p>

With strength she did not know she could possess, Mai picked both of the children up in one fell swoop and took them to the room she had let them use the night before. She placed each child in their futon—Kazi for the neat one and Yui for the messy one—placed a blanket on each, shut out the light, and silently closed the door. She returned to her tea with a troubled heart.

She had been terribly selfish to this point. While it was true that she needed to care for the children physically with food, a shelter, and protection from whatever pursuers they might have until their parents could be found, she also needed to provide for them emotionally until such a time came as well. Yui's—the stubborn and generally rude yet somehow kind child'—simple calling her their mother whilst they cried was proof enough of that. Her personal beef with that man should not come at the expense of two frightened and lonely children.

_I need __one__ job that will pay me well and give me enough time to be with them if they need me…_ Mai conceded as she finished her tea. She could not be there for the children should they need her if she took on multiple jobs. This was truly her last option. She looked towards the pictures she had on the table. One of her mother and father. One of her family in SPR. And the picture of Naru and Gene.

She offered a quick prayer as she picked up the phone.

* * *

><p>Oliver Davis stood in the center of his office, wondering where exactly it was that he had gone wrong. He had led a good academic life. His findings had advanced the causes of Ghost Hunting and parapsychology. His work had helped many others and accomplished many of the goals he had set for it to accomplish, and yet he found himself dissatisfied. It was due to this dissatisfaction that he had found himself ordering a ticket to Japan after four years and informing his parents that he would like to open a full-time branch of SPR in Japan, where he had already laid ground rails years ago.<p>

Oliver was—by no means—an idiot. He knew that part of the reason he had come back was to check on the girl who had once been his assistant. His initial purpose in placing the call to her was simply to check in on her life. How was she? Was she faring well? Did she now have someone who could take care of her clumsy self? Perhaps, if the past could be forgiven—if not tolerated—he could have asked her to once again work with him as they had done so long ago.

He had not intended to spat with her at all. It had only been meant as a civil, friendly call.

However, there was the matter of the child who had answered the telephone in the first place. Had the personality not been such a vast contrast to the Mai he had known, he would have assumed that the person who had answered was Mai herself. Oliver knew that no matter how much time passed, Mai would never become that rude to an anonymous caller. He had, after all, never given the girl his private cell phone number, so even if she had caller ID, she would have never known it was him. She would have been answering to a stranger.

Still, the child had sounded startlingly similar to the brown-haired assistant he had worked with four years ago. It was only natural to assume that the child was hers with as young as she had sounded. It had been four years since he had last seen her, so it was plausible that she could have had a child in that time. As he had waited for the child to retrieve Mai, he had wondered. Wondered if the child looked like Mai, or looked like her father—whoever _that_ may be. This dangerous trail of thoughts is perhaps where his call had gone astray.

To him, this train of thought had been troubling indeed. The child had stated that it was indeed the Taniyama residence. If that were so, that meant Mai's last name was the same as when he had known her, and it was very plausible that she had not married. Was she raising a child by herself, or was she perhaps living with a boyfriend? Was she well in her current state of affairs? Would the father of the child be treating her right?

The possibility of the last question's answer being no caused a terrible ache in his heart and a sudden quiet rage in his disposition.

And that was when Mai had answered the phone. They had calmly chatted for a few moments before he had asked her on her personal life and state of affairs. She had not mentioned a man of any sort, but he had felt determined to get an answer. When he had broached the subject of the child's father, she had become rather hostile and increasingly defensive rather quickly. Oliver deduced that the father must have run off and left her to care for the child alone. Mai, being herself, would probably never send a child to an orphanage or to the police if it were within her ability to keep the child. Even at hazard to herself. In this mindset, he had offered her a job with him back at SPR should she need the finances to help raise the child. It was, after all, something he could do to help her out once more, and he would help out a non-pumpkin.

Her anger had been completely unexpected. She had not yelled at him over the phone, but she had become extremely cold with him, instantly referring to him as Davis-san, which did not sit well with him at all. When he had attempted to deduce the cause of her sudden shift in attitude, all she had done was wish him a good day and hang up on him.

That call had ended two hours ago, and Oliver was still at a loss. Mai obviously needed someone to help her out and care for the child. It was obviously a touchy subject, so matters must have been quite complicated.

Oliver vaguely wondered why he was still worried about it if she had hung up on him, effectively sending the message that she did not wish to speak with him again. Perhaps it was because she had already reached and remaind on the non-pumpkin stage of his life despite the passage of time, and he had actually wanted either to end relations with her on a good note rather than a sour one or perhaps have good relations from this call onwards. Oliver sighed. Why could his life never be without complications?

The buzzing of his phone brought his attention to the present. To the fact that even though his personal life was currently being figured out, he was still the head of BSPR's new Japanese branch and he needed to run it with utmost professionalism. He would need to place an ad in the paper for a new assistant if the previous one would not return and brace himself for having to meet with new exorcists, as the old team was unlikely to return without Mai.

Without even glancing at the caller ID—only persons of significant personal importance knew this number—he answered with a very curt "Hello".

"Is that offer still open?" Mai's voice asked from the other line, polite and distanced, yet somehow hopeful. Oliver drew the phone back from his ear to see that if he had merely glanced at the ID, he would have noted that Mai had called him back. But why? "I realize I hung up on you earlier, however, you really need to learn to gather more evidence before you make your conclusions, mister scientist."

Though confused at the sudden shift in disposition, Oliver smirked. It would be nice to have Mai back and working for him, especially if she seemed to have gained more spunk in the past couple of years. He hoped working with her now would be as entertaining as it had been four years ago.

"Yes, it is, though I do have one condition…"

_**AmyNChan: *disperses many, many tissues and runs away***_

_**Oliver: *looks after Amy* Chan-san has abandoned her reader's reactions.**_

_**Mai: Wouldn't you?**_

_**Oliver: No. My mind works differently from hers.**_

_**AmyNChan: *runs back up and pokes Naru on the shoulder* No, it doesn't!**_

_**Oliver: *holds out hand***_

_**Mai: *gives Oliver a few yen, muttering the entire way***_

_**AmyNChan: You guys were betting on me?!**_

_**Mai: *grins sheepishly***_

_**AmyNChan: Harumph!**_

_**Oliver: If you wish for more chapters, place your reaction to this chapter in the commentating section below.**_

_**AmyNChan: Please read and review~! *^_^***_


	6. Conditions and Clothes

_**AmyNChan: I'm so sorry this took so long...**_

_**Oliver: More writer's block?**_

_**AmyNChan: More like I couldn't find the time to edit. If I had foregone that step, I would have missed so many mistakes... I do that so often...**_

_**Oliver: It appears as though you are making a true effort.**_

_**AmyNChan: How rude! I always make an effort.**_

_**Oliver: *turns to the audience* Chan-san does not own Ghost Hunt.**_

_**AmyNChan: are you always gonna call me that...**_

"Are you certain this is a good idea?" Lin asked Oliver, the question having been hanging in the air all morning. The Chinese man and his wife were in Japan for the sole reason that Martin had insisted Oliver—although fairly adept—could not reestablish his old business overnight or without assistance already in place. He would need a small team to help him get situated in the office before reaching out to old contacts. Oliver, for his part, had requested that if a team were necessary for him to begin working in Japan once more that Lin would be on it. Of course, that would mean that the man's wife would be part of the package.

One head investigator, one lead researcher, and one Chinese omoyoji made a sufficient enough team to appease Martin as well as the head of the company itself. Oliver had arrived to Japan first in order to secure the office space and apartments that the group would require for the duration of their stay—however long that may be. Oliver supposed that if he could secure the team he needed, he might remain in Japan.

No, if he could ease the dissatisfaction he felt with his life—and he felt certain the answer lie in Japan somewhere—then he would remain. Should his hunch prove wrong, then he would return to England once more and see what lie in wait for him there.

"You have not questioned my methods before," the younger man replied, assisting his friend in moving the equipment about. Madoka would return later with furniture for the office, so that left the men with the arduous task of hauling the heavy equipment into the back room where the cameras and thermal imaging had been stored during their last stay here. Fortunately, the task was almost complete when Lin had felt the most uncharacteristic urge to question the genius he used to have charge over.

"You have never been driven by impulse before," Lin stated, his tone free of accusation, though Oliver knew it was there. The raven haired boss cast a cold look towards the other man in the room, the latter of which ignored it with a finesse that most of the original Japanese SPR team would kill to have. Not literally, of course, as they would not want to exorcise each other's spirits once dead.

"I would assume it has something to do with Taniyama-san's visit to the office scheduled for this morning," Lin continued, setting one monitor away in a place that was above even his own head. He did not need to see his young friend to know he had supposed one hundred percent correctly. The amplified intensity of the glare on his back was proof enough. However, the uncomfortable feeling began to abate as soon as it had come, indicating that Noll had stopped glaring at him. But why? Normally, the socially inept boy would glare for at least ten seconds longer than that. Something could be bothering him. It did not take a genius to figure out what it was.

"She is scheduled to come in at noon, after the office is properly set up and all of the equipment is safely stored," Oliver answered, placing another monitor in the room. He shelved it in its correct place before turning on his heel and walking outside, intent on grabbing the last of the shelving units from the van. Lin followed him, intent on gaining perspective on the young man's sudden shift in mood.

"I suppose this is because of the child that will be accompanying her into the office today," Lin stated aloud, referring to Noll's slight concern over the equipment being safely stored _before_ Taniyama-san's arrival. It was not a question nor a supposition, despite the word choice. Oliver shut the back of the van firmly and locked it swiftly. He did not like to be in the cold for very long.

"I would like to meet the child once and see what effect she has on Mai," Oliver returned robotically. In truth, he was extremely curious as well as very hesitant. He did not want to see a child with Mai's eyes and another man's chin. Or Mai's temper and another man's disposition. These thoughts made his teeth grit together and he clenched his hand. However, there was no logical reason to be angry if she were happy, or even to concern himself with her personal affairs. In an effort to tell himself why he cared so much, he mused over the idea that he was angry over the possibility that she could have a child and be _un_happy.

Perhaps that was it. He did not want his…

His what? Assistant? She had not worked for him in years. Friend? His last words to her had probably slammed that door firmly in his face. Acquaintance? No, far too formal. What was she to him, after all of this time? She was still important to him, somehow...

"Oliver, you would not be able to pass any sort of reasonable judgment on that child, simply because she _is_ a child and she is with Taniyama-san," Lin pointed out. Oliver frowned at the fact that Lin had pointed out one of his rather glaring flaws. His personal circle of friends and family knew that if a child were being harmed in a case, the chances of Oliver taking it would be one hundred percent, and that he would not intentionally do anything to make a child cry. However, idiot scientist is as idiot scientist does and he did make errors in talking with a few children that did result in their tears. At that point, another member of the team would comfort the child as Oliver continued to gather information.

"Be that as it may, this was the condition I set for her to be a part of my team once more," he asserted as Lin put the last of the equipment away. "I would like to meet the child."

Lin said nothing more on the subject, though he knew that his friend's judgment was clouded on the issue. The Chinese man, for his part, wondered how on earth their friend could have a child already, as she had not had any romantic interests by the time the two had left the office. Surely she had been heartbroken, and not the type to run to a stranger's arms for that kind of comfort. Still, Lin had to give the child credit. Based on Oliver's description of the conversation he had with her, she had back talked him within two moments of answering the phone. Any child with that amount of gall was worth meeting in his mind.

_I suppose we'll know when Taniyama-san comes in later…_ Lin mused, locking the equipment away. He turned around and walked into his old office, intent on reorganizing everything into a similar fashion to the way he had it four years ago.

* * *

><p>"Let's see… they can't want it all <em>this<em> bland, can they?" Madoka mused aloud as she walked around the furniture store. In her hand was a list that consisted of the chairs and table that Oliver wanted in the office. The chairs were all either black or a very dark grey while the table was to have a glass top. The walls would be white again, as Oliver had decided. In mind's eye, it would look very plain. The pinkette frowned.

"You can't expect clients to feel at ease if we're making them feel as though they're going to be interrogated…" the woman said aloud, placing her hands on her hips and shaking her head. The thought of her idiotic apprentice sometimes brought a smile to her face and other times made her want to strangle him. His people senses were definitely in need of an upgrade…

"Let's see if I can sneak some color in," she finally decided. The chairs would be the lightest dark grey she could find and she would look for some very nice serene pictures to hang on the walls. Maybe a lighthouse or a rice patty field. Maybe a picture of a playground. Maybe—

"Oh, excuse me," the pinkette apologized, turning to an older woman whom she had accidentally ran into. The woman had been reaching for something quite high for one of her height when Madoka had unintentionally knocked her over. She assisted the elder woman to her feet and apologized again.

"I'm so sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going, you see…" she explained. She omitted the portion of her thinking about what pictures to buy in order to make the office seem more friendly. It was not that important.

"Thank you, dearie," the woman returned, a smile coming out despite having just been knocked over. "That's the third time I've been pushed around today and yet you're the first person to apologize, much less help an old woman back to her feet."

"How rude," Madoka said, her eyes wide. Even _Oliver_ would help an old woman to her feet if he were at fault. Then again, she was being quite rude as well… "Where are my manners? My name is Lin Madoka. Pleased to meet you."

"Pleased to meet you, Lin-san," the elder woman smiled with a nod. "My name is Haru Chiyo. You can call me Chi-Obaa. Everyone does."

"Then feel free to call me Madoka," the pinkette smiled. This woman was quite friendly. "What were you reaching for?"

"Oh, my back is bad and I am in need of a stepping ladder for my house," Chi-Obaa admitted. She looked up to the second shelf above her head. It was a fairly nice one that looked as though it were made of bamboo. "I hate to trouble my children every time I need something from the upper shelves, so I thought it would be a good idea to get one for myself."

"That's a wonderful idea, though why they put it so high up is a mystery," Madoka said. "I mean, those who need a stepping ladder in the first place would need a stepping ladder just to get to this stepping ladder."

"You're not a fan of pronouns, are you?" Chi-Obaa asked, an amused twinkle in her eye. Madoka laughed at the elder woman's jest before walking up to the shelving unit and gathering the item from its place. She passed it down to the elderly woman with a laughing smile.

"I suppose it depends on my mood, Chi-Obaa," the woman laughed. The elder woman joined in the laughter as the bamboo product was placed in her cart.

"Thank you for your help, Madoka-chan," the elder woman smiled before reaching into her purse with a fumble. She withdrew a card and passed it over. "I'm afraid I can't give you anything other than my time for your help, but do drop by every now and again. My children tell me I make quite a mean batch of lemon cookies."

"I might take you up on that," Madoka answered. She rather liked Chi-Obaa, as she reminded her of her own grandmother.

"Until next time, then," Chi-Obaa smiled as she began to push her cart away. Madoka smiled as she returned to her own list, pocketing the card for future reference. She still wished Oliver or Koujo would allow her to get some color for the office. They were not running an interrogation service, you know!

* * *

><p>"But why not?" Yui complained loudly in the middle of the store. She was still in her black onesie pajamas with her arms crossed over her front in defiance. Clasped securely in her arms was a black dress that she was refusing to relinquish her hold on. Next to her was Kazi, who had already gathered some clothes from the clearance rack. He had chosen a light green tee-shirt and a pair of brown cargo shorts. As it was, it turned out that their caretaker could only afford one outfit apiece for now if they wanted jackets to keep them warm. And Mai was not about to let the children run about in the middle of winter without coats.<p>

Yet Yui had no clue as to why the woman did not want her to have this black dress. It was black and it was cool and she liked it!

"Because people are going to think you're going to a funeral…" Mai whispered, attempting not to cause a scene in the middle of the store. It was failing dismally as Yui decided to stomp her foot on the ground and keep an even tighter hold on the dress she had in her arms.

"But black is cool! My daddy wears it all the time, so I get to, too!" Yui exclaimed. Her eyes were narrowed dangerously and Mai had a feeling she would not be able to win this fight very easily. However, before she could say another word, Yui turned to her brother with a pout. "Yes he does!"

Mai looked from Yui to Kazi then back to Yui again. Ever since they had woken up from their impromptu nap, they had been doing this a lot. Yui had been saying random things about their mother and father. Nothing that would really help her to identify them in the street, just how awesome her dad was and how Kazi really missed their mom, but it was sweet to hear her chatter about their lives. Mai really wanted to get these kids back home and safe, but she had to find out who the parents were first. Yet, for some reason, it seemed as though the children did not want her knowing who they were at all, not even to help in returning them.

This was all so confusing.

"Kazi told me to tell you that daddy doesn't wear black _all_ the time, that he's got other colors, too, but he wears black most of the time!" Yui insisted. Her mouth was pressed in a firm line and somehow Mai knew that if she did not let the girl get this dress, then she would simply find more clothes that were black in color. The fight that would ensue would make them all late for her appointment with SPR, so the woman sighed and decided to relent for now.

"You can get the dress if you agree to wear at least a bit of extra color so people don't think you're going to a funeral," Mai conceded. Once she did, Yui visibly relaxed and—for the first time since she had met the child—she smiled. She hugged the dress with much gusto and Mai wondered why on earth a simple black dress would make her so happy.

Still, she was happy so now Mai could turn to Kazi. She frowned when she saw the shorts.

"Kazi, you're going to get cold if you wear those shorts," Mai told him softly. The boy frowned and held onto the shorts, silently pleading with her to let him have them. In his little cowboy pajamas, he looked very adorable and Mai was tempted to just let him have the shorts right then and there. However, the desire to keep him from becoming sick with a cold kept her pressing on the subject.

"Kazi doesn't get cold very easy," Yui said, batting for her brother. Mai turned her attention to the young girl who had been smiling moments earlier. Now she wore a serious expression and a frown. "He only starts sneezing when it's really, really cold, and even then he doesn't do anything except sneeze. He's weird."

"What's really, really cold?" Mai asked. She knew that Tokyo could go as low as minus two degrees Celsius, and that was fairly nippy. Yui thought about it for a moment, scratching her head. Suddenly, she turned to her brother with an embarrassed scowl.

"I-I knew that!" she defended herself against his silent statement. Mai wondered how on earth the children seemed to know what the other was saying without actually speaking a word. She had heard Yui a lot over the morning, but Kazi had not said a single word. He was the definition of quiet, and it was slightly unsettling to Mai. Still, the children seemed comfortable with it so she felt she should not cause a huge fuss over it. "He says that it gets cold around minus five degrees Celsius. Daddy did a test and figured it out when we were really little."

"So your daddy likes to do tests then?" Mai asked. Maybe if she could get some information on the tests he did, she could narrow her search to a sort of facility that would allow him to complete such tests. It was better than nothing. Her hopes were dashed as Yui shook her head.

"Daddy and Mommy don't _like_ doing tests with us," Yui said, refusing to look Mai in the eye. Not even as the woman who was caring for them took the black dress she had fought for from her hands. Kazi handed over his clothes quietly as they made their way to the shoe department. "They only test us when they have to. To keep us from getting hurt."

"Getting hurt?" Mai asked. Could it be that the safety of the children was a continuous problem? Could the parents have finally sent the children away for their own protection? A pang in her heart screamed at her that it was not so. But still, nothing seemed to make sense when she tried to unravel this mystery…

"I want these shoes!" Yui declared, pulling out a pair of black dress shoes. Mai sighed sadly. Would she be toting around a child who wore nothing but black?

* * *

><p>"Remember to be polite," Mai reminded the two as she ascended the stairs of Shibuya Psychic Research. It was the same building they had used years ago. The woman felt a pang of remembrance as she went up the stairs. Only this time, she had two additions with her.<p>

"But, mom!" Yui complained. Mai sighed in exasperation. Ever since that cashier had asked if the children were hers, Yui had taken to calling her 'mom'. Mai felt as though the child were attempting to get back at her for being invasive and continuing to ask questions about their parents. Whatever the reason, no matter how many times the woman had asked her to cease and desist or call her something else—such as nee-san or oba-san—the child would persist.

It was a battle of wills that the child was currently winning.

"If you keep calling me that, people are going to think that you're actually my daughter," Mai sighed. She kept a firm hold on both of the children's hands as she entered the office. "And besides, I'm sure that when you do see your mother again, she won't take kindly to you calling me 'mom'. She might actually hate me for it…"

"She won't mind," Yui declared, letting go of Mai's hand as soon as they had entered the office. Kazi stayed with Mai as she attempted to chase the young girl down.

"Yui! This is a place of business! Don't run around so much," she attempted to warn, though it appeared as though Yui were not listening to her. She ducked in and under the boxes that were around the office, exploring everything. It was not very long before Kazi removed himself from Mai as well and joined his sister in her exploration. Mai could not get the children to settle before—

"Hello, Mai," a familiar voice stated from behind. The woman would have gulped had her throat not gone instantly dry. As calmly as she could, she forced herself to turn around and look that idiot man in the eyes. Into his devilishly handsome blue eyes.

"Good afternoon," she returned, attempting to sound calm. They both seemed to know she was anything but.

This was going to be one long interview.

_**AmyNChan: Okay, I hope you enjoyed it so far! I'll do my best to keep writing and updating!**_

_**Mai: *face palms* This is gonna be so awkward...**_

_**AmyNChan: Only if you make it so. XD**_

_**Mai: *buries head in hands***_

_**Kazi: *holds up a sign, asking you to review***_

_**Yui: You read it. Review, people!**_

_**AmyNChan: Yui! Say please!**_

_**Yui: *walks off***_

_**AmyNChan: grrrr...**_


	7. Battle of Wills Royale

_**AmyNChan: I made it! Barely!**_

_**Oliver: For Christmas, I assume.**_

_**AmyNChan: *nods before flopping on the bed, grateful to have done this chapter***_

_**Mai: AmyChan doesn't own Ghost Hunt!**_

There were three things of which Mai was made aware of very quickly. One: Oliver had grown almost _too_ handsome since they had last seen each other. His shoulders were broad and his stance firm. His clothes were still that black hue, yet his hands fell relaxed at his sides—a first she had ever seen. His deep blue eyes were scrutinizing her, examining her for every secret she could possibly hold, and she would have been content to tell. More than content, actually. She wanted to open her heart to him if only he asked. However, she knew she should not. This man would have to _work_ to have her back completely. It was an effort she was interested to see if he would even _attempt_ to make.

Two: Gene had somehow known of his brother's imminent return. It could have been why his teasing had made a surprisingly earnest comeback the night before and why he had stated her schedule would not be hectic for much longer. That would have meant Oliver's planning to come back would have taken quite a while. Mai somehow found it in herself to wonder as to why Oliver's trip to Japan would have taken such a long time to think out. Could it perhaps be...permanent?

Three: The world was about to explode.

Mai's eyes had widened as Yui and Kazi came out of their hiding place—behind one of the boxes in what had been the kitchenette four years ago—and ran towards the two adults. Mai had assumed they were bolting for her—that the stare down between former boss and assistant might have unnerved them—but was entirely surprised when Yui bypassed her easily and darted for Oliver's leg. The instant the child had latched onto the man, Mai had sucked in a breath with wide eyes.

_Not good, not good, not good..._ Mai chanted in her head. She tried to think of some reason as to why the little girl would attack Oliver with such vigor, but came up blank. It seemed as though the man was also surprised by his sudden new attachment.

"Mai, explain to me as to why your child has attempted to capture my leg," Oliver stated. Though, despite his lack of manners and completely off-base assumption, Mai could not find it in herself to be very angry at that moment. She was angry with him, yes, yet she felt more relieved than anything else. The world was not about to explode or die spontaneously because a small child had attached herself to Oliver Davis.

"You worried mom," Yui scolded the male she was currently attached to, jerking Mai out of her brief bliss.

"_Yui_, I told you, I'm not—"

"I said she doesn't mind," Yui interrupted, holding onto her current anchor all the more tightly. Almost as though she believed that the raven-haired man would protect her from whatever Mai had to say. The woman dared not look up into his face to see what he was thinking of this entire situation. She attempted to focus in on the small child who was still insisting very much to have her own way. "I don't think daddy will either."

"That's assuming an awful lot, Yui," Mai scolded. "The title of mommy and daddy is earned through years of taking care of you and loving you and being there for you when you need it most. You can't just assume that your real mommy and daddy would take very kindly to you just giving me that name. You have to think about how they would feel."

"I _am_ thinking about how they feel!" Yui shouted from her position. Her fist clenched itself on Oliver's pant leg, but Mai took no notice of that in favor of the frustration that was coming off the girl in waves. "You didn't turn us away when we were tired and cold. We would have gotten really, really hurt if you did. I'd say Mommy and Daddy wouldn't mind if I called you Mommy for a while. Besides, Kazi's doing it, too!"

_Yu—_ Kazi's thought was broken apart by his sister, who was staring at him with an intenseness that should not be on any child's face. In it, the girl told her brother that she knew she had said too much, but she was tired of arguing with this woman. She needed this sense of normalcy. Kazi nodded reluctantly. That much, he could understand.

"Am I interrupting something?" a new voice asked from the front doorway. All four persons turned to see an elderly looking man with a suit and tie, draping his coat over his arm and wearing an expression that clearly asked for help.

* * *

><p>"Thank you, young lady," the man—now introduced as Akihiko Sawamura—said gratefully as Mai placed a cup of nice warm tea in front of the man. It was only due to keeping up appearances for the business that Oliver got a cup as well. Mai was not officially hired yet and she had still been ordered to make tea when the client had come into the door. Yui and Kazi had scampered off into Oliver's office and had hidden themselves away. Mai was unsure if the raven haired man was pleased or annoyed with their decision to stay out of sight until the man had gone.<p>

"Sawamura-san, tell us why you've come to SPR," Oliver instructed, his black notebook at the ready. Mai made an observable effort not to roll her eyes. Her eyes did not roll. Therefore, her efforts were observable.

"Ah, yes, I'm here on behalf of the Togo company concerning one of their properties, the Hanayashiki amusement park," Sawamura-san explained. Mai made a connection, yet refrained from speaking out of turn. The Hanayashiki amusement park was the same location inviting tourists to come and "test their mettle" against their haunted apparitions. "Lately, there have been some disturbances. While we attempted to make the most of the strange occurrences, there has already been one injury and we cannot afford a repeat incident."

"Describe the nature of the injury," Oliver said. Sawamura-san seemed eager to oblige, yet only produced a file.

"The details are here in this folder, yet we cannot give them to you unless we have complete assurance of confidentiality," the man stated, placing the file on the table in front of him. No one made any move to gather it from its place, and Mai quickly found herself silently observing a battle of wills, the winner of which was predetermined in the woman's head. Surely, if Oliver was anything similar to how he had been in the past, he would not fall for this cheap ploy.

"You come here asking for my assistance, and yet when we attempt to gather preliminary information necessary to deem if your case is truly paranormal you bar our progress with conditions of absolute secrecy, informing me exactly what you think of my business," the boss observed. "If you are to stand in the way of investigation at this stage, it would be easily assumed that there is something going on that you do not wish uncovered, and that may prove to be dangerous at a later point."

"I assure you, only the secrecy of those involved is being protected," Sawamura-san replied. Despite his seemingly cool in the situation, even Mai could see the sweat on his upper lip. He was staring directly into Oliver's eyes and seemed to be refusing to break the connection until he was believed. "We have an obligation to our customers to ensure the protection of their identities, as this person has asked that only those on a need-to-know basis are made aware of the true events unfolding."

"With all due respect, if that is the attitude this person has taken up, then perhaps this is merely a breech in security or protocol," Oliver stated, and Mai could tell in his voice that he was done. She knew that even back in the day where SPR was a fully operational facility he had hated to be strung along, and that was exactly what Sawamura-san was attempting to do.

"I can assure you it's not," the elderly man stated, his eyes getting wide. He was realizing that he was losing his chances at getting the assistance he required.

"I have no proof," the young man returned, his eyes narrowing. "I do not have the time for games as you do, Sawamura-san. If you want our help you must be forthcoming with information that could be pertinent to the case. If you are not, then the door is situated behind you and you may take your leave at any time."

It was not long before Mai noted that the cup of tea she had gotten for herself had long since run cold. Yet, she could not bring herself to break the heavy tension in the air to heat it back up once more. She waited patiently for the client to fold.

And fold he did. Sawamura-san took his folder and held it for a few moments. Mai could tell in the tensing of his legs that he prepared to stand and leave seven different times while he sat there. What surprised her was Oliver's newfound sense of patience. Were it four years ago, Mai was sure he would have gotten up and walked into his office by now.

_But he was also looking for his brother four years ago…_ she reminded herself. She wondered how much of what she knew about Oliver was going to have to be reevaluated in the light of new knowledge. His urgency of time, was that due to his pressing need to find Eugene? Or perhaps his aversion to Christmas. Now that Eugene had been found and buried properly, could he now find enjoyment in the holidays? Mai knew she was unbearably curious, but had little hope of ever being close enough to the man she had once known to find the answers. He would first have to wish to be her friend again, a hope that Mai felt would be better squashed now. Yet she could not—for the life of her—squash it.

In the recesses of her mind, she could swear that she heard a certain ghost laughing at her problems.

"I see now why you were so insistent on secrecy," Oliver stated, his eyes tactfully going over the folder, absorbing its contents at a rapid pace. Mai tuned back into the conversation, eager to be privy to this new information that suddenly made her boss so understanding.

_Not technically my boss yet, he still hasn't given me the job…_ she thought, subtly biting her lip. It was a nervous habit of hers that she had not quite kicked yet. She needed the job, but Oliver had not technically given her the position yet. Would she be allowed to look at the information, much less take the case, if she were not technically employed here?

If not, then what the heck was she still doing in that room, sipping tea, as if she had every right to be there? Oliver had not kicked her out yet, so that had to be a good sign. She would have to ask later, after the client had left.

"…my assistant your information and we will get back to you on the condition of your case," Oliver stated as he stood. Taking their social cues, Mai and Sawamura-san rose to their feet as well. Without saying anything else, the raven-haired man quickly made his way into his office, closing the door behind him. A thought struck Mai and she was about to warn him, however—

"Young miss?" Sawamura-san asked, jarring the woman from her thoughts. She smiled long enough to take his contact information, assure him that Oliver was the best in the business and if his case was properly accepted then it would be resolved, hear his concerns about _not_ exorcising the specter, and show him out the door. It was then that Mai allowed her face to show her concern as she marched up to Oliver's office door and open it without so much as a knock.

"Yes, Mai?" Oliver asked nonchalantly as he sat at his desk. Yui and Kazi were sitting on a couch—not even free from its cellophane wrapping—observing the man with wide eyes. The woman looked from the children to the man she had once known to the children again, as if seeing them together for the first time. She blinked. Then again. Were her eyes deceiving her? Her instincts were pretty much screaming at her, and she knew she could not be wrong. But how was that possible? It certainly was not _probable..._

"I—uh… I wanted to know if I had my old job back…" Mai responded numbly. If she had cared at the moment, she would have been briefly annoyed by the scoff that Oliver produced in response to her question.

"You have fulfilled the condition I set in order for you to return to the position of my assistant," he stated, as though that in itself were an answer enough to her question. When Mai did not leave, he knew that clarification was in order. He did so by withdrawing a stack of papers—possibly ten leaflets filled with legalities and her job description—and passing them over to the confused woman. "This is your working contract. Sign and the job will be yours once more."

"I didn't have to sign a working contract before…" Mai recalled as she sat down. If her constant job hopping within the past few years had taught her anything, it was to always read the working contract. Thoroughly. Three times. Otherwise, the employer could and would put anything inside to protect themselves from legal consequences of unfavorable actions. Mai had only gotten out of _that_ job by the skin of her teeth and with merely two hundred yen to her name.

"You were a minor before, and your working contract had been signed by your principal," Oliver corrected. Mai frowned. In the two years she had worked for Oliver, she had not once gotten a renewal of that working contract. Perhaps it was because she had still been a minor at the time of SPR's disbanding. Perhaps that was it.

"I want to change this one," Mai stated out loud after finding something that she felt did not really attribute to ghost hunting at all.

"Give me one reason why I should," Oliver countered. He knew what she had found—and had been rather shocked when she had sat down, deciding to _read_ through the working contract—and he did not want to change it. He had gone four years without and he knew that having her in front of his office without being able to order her about would be pure torture.

"Because I would do it for free if you would just use your manners and you know it," the woman jabbed. She would not move on until this portion of her working contract was resolved. She knew it was going to be a bit of a battle by the way Oliver refused to look her in the eye.

"That's not a reason. That is a statement informing me that I can either pay you to do the job or use unnecessary words to get you to do the same job. I prefer paying you," he informed her. He knew she was going to be difficult by the way she was refusing to read any more on the page. They were most obviously at an impasse, neither willing to budge.

"And I prefer actually hearing manners rather than an order," she returned. "I've had several jobs over the years, and those that actually use manners to get what they want often have a greater efficiency track than those that don't."

"The only efficiency that my lack of manners on this subject hurts is the time it takes you to make tea," Oliver denied. Mai's eyes narrowed. She was in this for the long haul.

"There's the time we spent arguing about it, the time I waited for you to say thank you—which you probably wouldn't have to do if you said please in the first place, I'm good with any type of manners—and the amount of time I had to take to cool my head before getting back to work," Mai revealed, counting off on her fingers. "In all, that was about an extra five minutes per cup of tea that was wasted. Only about six cups makes that half an hour's worth of work not done for the sake of your stubborn pride."

Oliver's eyebrow quirked upward slightly. When had Mai been able to do quick arithmetic in her head, much less use it as a factual piece of evidence in a debate? The Mai he had known still had trouble with basic algebra.

"Then perhaps you should not argue with me when I tell you to make the tea, and nor should you wait for that which will not happen," the young man sidestepped. When Mai's face blossomed red with rage, he could not find it in himself to take her as a threat. Instead, he was rather amused. And felt nostalgic for it.

_I missed this…_ he thought, not realizing how true the statement was until it had crossed his mind. Indeed, when Mai had first worked with him, their constant arguments had helped him to deal with the grief. No, that was not right. It assisted him in realizing that his grief was still there, yet aided him in not allowing said grief to overtake him. Their arguments had kept Oliver Davis in line until his brother's body could be found. However, now that there was no psychological need for the arguments and that he was participating in them for fun, he could truly see how entertaining they were. Such a realization caused his lip to quirk upward in a smirk.

"Serving tea is something very personal to me and I refuse to be paid for such a service. However, if I'm not being paid for it, you can't demand it of me because you're my boss. As such, I can refuse to serve you tea until you actually use those manners that Madoka-san told me you have," Mai frowned. Making tea was something her mother had taught her long ago. Her mother had often said that tea helped bring peace to the soul, and if that were true then Mai would like for those skills to be used towards that purpose. The first time around she had no idea that tea-making was actually a part of the job, and it had killed her a little inside whenever Oliver would not say please or thank you for a service she held so close to her heart.

She was now fighting back. At least, that was what she had told herself as she passed the contract back to Oliver to redraft. The man only stared at the papers for a few moments while she glared at him. No, she was not _ogling_ him, despite the vague thoughts through the back of her mind about what it would be like to run her hands through his hair…

"I suppose if I'm deprived of tea, you'll be deprived of basking in my presence," Oliver stated, grabbing the papers from her. It took all of the willpower she had in her arsenal to not accuse him of all his narcissistic tendencies, because in the end, she had accomplished her mission.

She was barely able to hold her smirk in check as she watched him change the working contract.

_**AmyNChan: Mai, I'm so proud of yooouuuu!**_

_**Mai: I'm proud of me, too! I stood up to Naru and won!**_

_**Oliver: I wouldn't be so sure about that.**_

_**Mai: ?**_

_**AmyNChan: Unfortunately, he's right. I'll get to writing that ASAP.**_

_**Mai: Why can't I ever win?**_

_**AmyNChan: Read a majority of the fanfics on this site. You usually win in the end.**_

_**Mai: *grumbles***_

_**AmyNChan: Please read and review, people! *^_^* AND MERRY CHRISTMAS!**_


	8. First Case Back

_**AmyNChan: Okay, I wanted to get the ball rolling on this a little bit.**_

_**Mai: It's a case!**_

_**AmyNChan: Sorta.**_

_**Mai: Huh?**_

_**Oliver: Chan-san does not own Ghost Hunt.**_

_**AmyNChan: But I **__**do**__** own Yui and Kazi, the little snots~! *hugs***_

_**Mai and Oliver: *sweat drop***_

"Mai-chan, you're going with me on that roller coaster," Madoka announced, looking at the impressively tall structure that stood before them. The twenty year old woman merely cast the ride a passing glance before tightening her grip on the two children who looked absolutely enamored with their surroundings. Yui looked as though she were about to explode out of her skin in excitement while Kazi kept squirming every which way to see everything there was possibly to see in one go.

"I don't think that's…" Mai attempted to say, only to be cut off by a certain boss of hers.

"This is not a time for vacation or leisure," Oliver stated bluntly. Mai was surprised when his tone of voice even caused the children to still their actions for a moment. "We have merely been employed to root out the cause of the mysterious phenomena, assess the possible risk, and then leave."

"What, no exorcism?" Mai asked, slightly confused. In the cases she had worked before SPR's first dissolution, every client had requested that their strange occurrences be stopped, ergo the exorcisms. Oliver scoffed, though the children seemed to be listening with wide eyes and intense focus.

"Sawamura-san has asked that we not remove the entity unless it is a large threat to the safety of Hanayashiki's customers," Oliver reminded her. Were her hands not occupied with the hands of children, Mai would have shaken her fist at his holier-than-thou attitude. Since her re-hiring two days ago, he had locked himself away in his office, not bothering to see her unless he was asking her to call up the client and inform him that his case had been accepted. Other than that, zilch. Absolutely nothing. And Mai was beginning to get sick of it.

"He only wants an assessment check?" Madoka asked, her face alight with confusion and a spattering of disdain. Upon a nod from her former student, the pinkette's frown intensified. "That's so wrong…"

"What is?" Mai asked, looking from face to face in order to riddle out exactly what it was that had made one of her most cheerful friends so upset. Surprisingly, it was not one of the adults that answered her, but rather, little Yui.

"People shouldn't poke fun at ghosts. They're people, too, you know!" the little girl stated loudly. Mai wondered if anyone else noticed that the child cast a sidelong glance at Oliver after she had said it, a small amount of hesitance coloring her face but only for a moment. Was she looking for approval? From Oliver? But why?

"A majority of the time, yes, spirits were once living people as we are accustomed to seeing them on a day-to-day basis," Oliver agreed, completely bulldozing the look that the small child had given him only moments ago. Mai could not place it, but she wanted to drag his narcissistic butt back and force him to acknowledge the small girl whose feelings he had completely ignored.

She, however, did not get the chance as her boss immediately began to set orders.

"Lin, Madoka, start taking the equipment to base. We can start setting up the monitors and prepare them for when we set up the video and audio equipment after hours," the raven haired man ordered. To this, he received an "aye-aye captain" and a dutiful nod of the head. "Mai, once you check the children into the center, you will come with me for interviewing purposes."

Mai could feel herself sigh in relief when Oliver did not repeat his blatant mistake, though felt a twinge of guilt when she realized that his efforts at correcting himself were only in vain. The only way she would have been able to bring Yui and Kazi along—a move that was very much encouraged by Gene, who reminded her that they still might have something paranormal after them which a normal babysitter might not comprehend the repercussions of—was to take the facility up on their children's day care. As the care was free of charge for children of workers, she had forced herself to not correct anyone on the true identities of the children's parents, and even encourage the deception for their own safety.

For now, at least.

* * *

><p>"No," Yui stated firmly, glaring at the woman who Mai was to be dropping the children off with. Mai, who was quickly becoming used to the small girl's rebellious nature, sighed in frustration. Could she possibly have <em>one<em> time where the girl agreed to do something peaceably? Of course not…

"You can't stay with us on the case, it's too dangerous," the woman responded, shooting down the idea of either of them staying in base, which Yui had been pleading for. "Besides, it won't be bad here. I'm sure they have better cooking than I do, at least."

"No," the little girl reiterated, her eyes in narrow slits. Mai was at the end of her patience when she hefted the small child up into the air, stepped over the threshold, and placed her down once more. The girl struggled mightily as Mai dropped her off and made a beeline for the gate, which she was able to seal before Yui could catch up with her. The angry child collided with the gate and lifted her hands to pound against the barrier as the woman attempted to slip away.

"That's not fair!" Yui yelled as Mai made her getaway. One of the workers followed the woman out, though for what reason, Yui could not fathom. She was merely very, _very_ angry that she had been dumped at this place filled with stupid, smelly _babies_. Realizing that her temper tantrum was earning her odd looks from the other workers, the girl detached herself from the door with a shred of dignity left and resigned herself to glaring furiously at the gate until mom returned for them. Mom _had_ to return for them. She just _had_ to.

Kazi watched as his sister glared at the gate. He knew where they were, and he knew he could get them out of there if he needed to. Until then, he would be here and hold his sister's hand, hoping that such a simple action would calm her down. He hoped as he grasped her hand lightly.

The worker soon returned without Mai in tow and Yui crinkled her nose. Angry thoughts filled her head as she refused to even _talk_ to the woman who assured her that she would be taken good care of.

Neither of the children bought it.

* * *

><p>"…thank you for your time." Mai bid yet another 'victim' farewell. In the course of gathering information, she and Oliver had discovered that much of their possible data could very well be other visitors, intent on making fools out of the Togo company and—by extension—themselves. Loud rapping noises and moving objects that were warm to the touch. While both were definite criteria set forth by Tisane himself, each could be easily explained by factors such as weather and the sheer amount of people in the park every day. In other words, none of the victims had been in the park whilst after hours or while there were no other people around to contaminate the results. As such, most of their witness accounts were useless.<p>

Obviously, Oliver's thoughts were similar as he put no effort forth in hiding his growing frustration. It was there in the tightening of his eyes and the rigidity of his posture. In his deep-set frown and in his hands that were clasped just a _little_ too tightly for a man who was not in prayer.

"Hello? Is this SPR?" a small female voice asked, bringing Mai out of her observations. The woman turned in order to see a young girl—possibly no older than thirteen—standing in the doorway. If it were not for the bags under her eyes, the shyness in her posture, or the tremble in her tone, Mai would have been able to see her beauty far more swiftly. The young girl had brown hair in a long braid down her back, and deep set chocolate eyes. She was taller in her frame, but not so much that her age was obscured. In all, pretty but very worn.

"Yes, may we help you?" Mai asked, being sure to show the girl as much warmth as possible. When the girl saw Mai's smile, she seemed to feel just a little more comfortable, and she took a shy step into the room upon hearing a confirmation.

"I—I ran into some trouble last week and I was told to talk to you," she explained herself, looking around. Mai smiled as she silently welcomed the girl inside. The child smiled as she entered the room, all the while nervously tugging at her hair. Mai was about to offer the poor teenager something warm and soothing to drink when her boss beat her to the punch. Talking about business, of course.

"I read your file," Oliver stated. The girl's face whitened a little bit, and Mai was a hair's breadth away from scolding the man when she saw it. A glint in his eye that was not very driven, yet had all the focus of the world. It was gone in a blink. "Tell me, in your own words, what happened to you the night of the seventeenth."

"Take the time you need, okay?" Mai added on, seeing that her boss was putting the girl through unneeded pressure. The child nodded and Mai cast a sour look to her boss. What was he thinking? The event _obviously_ bothered her. Could he at least ask with a touch more _tact_?

"I—I was near the fun house," the girl started. "Mom just left me there to go talk to Sawamura-shi because the park had just shut down for the night. No one was there and I didn't want to go in the fun house…"

"Why was that?" Oliver interjected. The girl jumped slightly, not having expected to be interrupted.

"Because it's really creepy at night…" she admitted. At Oliver's nod, the girl continued. "Like I said, I didn't want to go in there, but then… then I felt someone yank on my hair. It hurt a lot and I ended up going inside the fun house anyways. I didn't want to…"

"Tell us what happened after you went into the fun house," Oliver prodded. Mai barely restrained herself from scolding him in front of the client. The young girl took a deep breath and forced back a few tears.

"After I fell in, the glass started shattering all around me… It didn't take very long, but I can't remember being that scared in my life…" the girl shuddered, obviously recalling the night that had happened almost a week ago. Mai observed her for a moment, taking in her story. It was completely unlike the others she had been listening to for the past four hours. A vast majority of the others had come in with wild stories of floating specters or dramatic events that showcased bravery. Both Mai and Oliver had been able to weed out the fakes fairly quickly.

"Tell us what happened before the glass began to break. Did your mother and yourself have an argument? Was there something said or something that happened that stuck out to you that night?" Oliver requested. His eyes were scanning his black notebook and Mai knew he was making connections with that different brain of his. She was glad _someone_ was, because she felt lost as to why he would ask such things of her.

"Does it matter?" the girl asked, her tone suddenly taking an edgy and somewhat aggressive tone. Mai switched her attention back to the child almost instantly, surprised by the abrupt change. Oliver was not phased in the slightest. He kept an even watch over the girl for a few moments, observing as she became more tense with every passing moment, as though anticipating further questioning. Interesting.

"No. You may go," he dismissed her. Mai frowned heavily at her boss. Manners. Had the guy ever _heard_ of them?

"I'm sorry, I'm sure what he _means_ to say is thank you for your time," Mai corrected, showing the girl to the door while shooting a glare at her boss. Who promptly ignored it. The brown haired woman felt her fuse grow shorter and shorter with each passing moment that the insensitive and uncaring jerk refused to showcase actual etiquette.

"Oh, okay…" the girl said, rather startled at the sudden sendoff. The tension in the air felt almost as suffocating as home, and she was rather inclined to make a hasty retreat.

"What gives?" Mai asked as soon as the girl was far enough away that she would not be able to hear the woman scold her boss. She already had a slight inkling as to what was going on in this haunted amusement park, yet she wanted to hear it from him, to make sure she had gotten it right. Also, there was the small fact that she was still putting it together in her mind. It was a work in progress.

"Nothing 'gives', Mai," Oliver quipped, remaining secretive. Mai frowned as he gathered up his papers and seemed to be preparing for something. Most likely more research, as there were no more victims to be interviewed that Mai knew of.

"Okay, I'll guess then," Mai snapped. The raven haired man made no move to stop her in her suppositions. He was either encouraging them or did not care. Mai, despite herself, wished to believe it was the former. "You would be thinking that the girl was lying if you didn't have the file that proved her injuries. I haven't seen it, but you sorta came to when that little girl walked in the room, so you either have a thing for jailbait or you'd seen her before. And if you'd seen her before, it was because you met or because you saw her in that file. The chances of you two _actually_ meeting before now isn't very likely, so I think it was because you'd seen her in that file."

Oliver had scoffed at the jailbait comment, but had not otherwise given any indication that Mai had been wrong in her assessment. This was enough to allow her to continue her ideas.

"Everyone else today has given us almost the exact same rundown: objects moving or strange noises," the woman continued. "Though even _I_ could tell that half of them were wishful thinking spurred on by the slight hype this place has gotten. Only four of them have actually come in contact with whatever's happening here."

At this point, Oliver had closed his book and was looking at her with mild interest. Possibly to see how far her logic would take her. Mai was determined to impress, so she pressed on.

"Those four had similar stories, but their reactions were real. Each of them encountered the rapping, the moving objects, and the heat. You asked them each where they were when the activity happened, but the surprising thing is that they were all over the park. One was near the roller coaster, another by the food court, one was by the restrooms, and the last one was next to that spinny ride." Mai chose to ignore Oliver as he scoffed once more at her terminology. Yet this scoff had almost sounded like…

Nah.

"Their locations were diverse, what does this tell you?" Oliver prompted, bringing Mai back on track. She was embarrassed to have been on a roll and distracted so easily. She flushed red and refused to look him in the eye. He would never laugh for her anyways.

"Whatever's going on in here is mobile, so if it's paranormal, it's not a ghost haunting the tracks, that's for sure," Mai told him. "And if it were any sort of land subsidence, the locations would have some sort of pattern to them, but the way it is now is just too random to make any kind of sense. There's no path in between them, and we haven't heard anything about the areas between them from a reliable source."

"What do you think is the problem, then?" he asked. He was interested to see what sort of answer Mai would come up with. Back when he had known her, she had never shown this amount of initiative, nor had she possessed this ability of linear logical thinking. He wondered what had brought about this change.

"Well, if it were just a high concentration of feelings—Bou-san and Ayako had a case like that a few months back—then every amusement park and museum in the world would have this problem to an extent, so that's out," Mai thought aloud, trying to root out the problem. In her thought process, she had crossed her arms over herself and had found herself looking at the monitors to her left. "It could be that some_one_ is haunted, rather than some_thing_. But that would mean the person would have to be here a lot and was there at every real incident.

"But that's assuming that an actual ghost is behind all of this…" Mai said, allowing herself to trail off. From there, her thoughts took on a whirlwind, pulling information from her entire career and side job as a ghost hunter. Especially from the beginning.

"I'm surprised," Oliver announced, his tone bland but his words earnest. Mai felt a warmth spread through her chest at his words. "You're thinking about this job seriously and eliminating possibilities one by one, giving an explanation for each item you cross off. I expected you to blurt out the first answer that came to your mind with no reasoning or logic to it whatsoever."

"That's a good thing," Mai asserted, turning to glare at the man. Honestly, she thought he would be _impressed_ if she actually showed him that she could think academically from time to time. It had taken a while for her to realize that this was what Oliver had meant by his brain working differently. He had always thought in a school-like environment, where answers and clues were given to you if you only cared to look for them. The realization had come on in an epiphany during psychology class two semesters ago. While Mai could use that sort of thinking for cases now, she could never imagine being stuck in such a linear thought process every day for her entire life.

That would be so boring!

"You're still missing the final piece of the puzzle, though," Oliver announced, returning his eye to his notes. Mai fumed at him for a moment. Could the man seriously not just give her a compliment and let her think she had done good?

"What, pray tell, is that?" the cinnamon-eyed woman seethed, glaring at him. He read on for a few moments before finally retrieving the information he wanted. He snapped his notebook shut and easily glided to the base door, where he got another tongue lashing from Mai. "Hey! It's rude to walk away when someone's talking to you!"

"Go check on the children and tell them they may only spend one night here," Oliver said, not looking her in the eye as he said it. "This case is almost solved."

Before Mai could ask what he had meant by that, Oliver Davis had left the room.

_**AmyNChan: Okay, thank you all so much for your reviews! They help me keep my storyline straight and remind me to add this, that, and the other in as explanations and whanot~! *^_^***_

_**Mai: So please keep reviewing to keep this story in check!**_

_**Yui: You heard! Review!**_

_**Kazi: *holds up a sign that says "Please"***_


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